by Susannah Gray
In Chico Sierra’s exhibition on display at the Dedo-Maranville Fine Arts Gallery at Valdosta State University, we are able to experience thought-provoking art works which explore themes of culture, self-expression, indigenous identity, racial oppression and more. He experiments with several different materials and mediums, ranging from his 15’ mural Slow Collisions, to acrylic on canvas in several pieces, to acrylic paint on wood such as his work Blue Snake. The works are visually appealing enough to enjoy at face value, but the context of Sierra’s origins helps viewers in gaining a deeper understanding of the meaning or message each one contains. Sierra is a self-taught artist hailing from El Paso, Texas who is of Chicano heritage, meaning someone of Mexican heritage born in the United States. Anyone viewing this exhibition can benefit from learning more about the cultural conversation taking place within these artworks.
In Sierra’s work titled Sisters of Common Threads, we see three large female figures of different ethnicities (one is black or African descent, and the other two look to be Mexican and Native American) looking over a town with many threads intertwined in their fingers. This piece is my personal favorite, as it touches on the common struggles these marginalized communities, and especially women, have experienced. The center figure is holding what looks like a little world in her hands, depicting an indigenous woman with a white snake wrapped around her. The snake’s head has been removed from its body. She is holding a machete, indicating that she has removed it herself. The clouds in the sky behind the three larger figures are lit up red from the fire in the landscape behind her. The scene of the woman with the fire and the snake feels almost like a symbolic vision of what would happen if these communities stood together and against the oppression they have faced from white colonizers. I couldn’t help but also feel reminded of the Greek mythology surrounding the three fates, which were immortal beings that held the power of life, death and destiny on strings for every human being. This work was very successfully done and holds several layers to be dissected by viewers on their interpretation of it.
In The Physics of Letting Go, the canvas is a large one—72″ x 65”. The composition is busy and colorful, with abstract shapes and geometric forms all over. The title indicates that the work is about letting something go—whether it be a person, an idea, a hurt that a person/group of people inflicted, or something else, letting things go can sometimes be a complex and emotional process. If one looks really closely, plant and animal life such as a fish, bird, and cacti can be seen. In the upper right-hand side of the canvas, there is a female figure’s side profile facing towards the left with her hand outstretched and palm facing up towards the sky. She is releasing a bird. The woman has a light blue, glowing halo above her head, perhaps indicating her spiritual importance, and perhaps also referencing Romanesque art which commonly depicted halos above holy figures. The indication of spiritual importance through the symbolism of the halo can be referring to how going through hard things can sometimes hone us into much more enlightened individuals. The “physics” part of it can perhaps be referring to this complexity, as physics is known to be one of the more difficult sciences to learn and understand, with anomalies some scientists are still attempting to figure out. Dare I say that ‘letting things go’ is much like defying the laws of physics? With several different moving parts included in this composition, and many things left up for interpretation, this work was also very well done.
In Sierra’s work The Good Sun, the subject is a male body whose chest has been opened by his own hands to reveal complex colors and shapes within. His head is missing and is instead depicted as a sun with beams of light radiating outward. The surrounding area of the composition is filled with cacti, flowers, and colorful geometric shapes and patterns. This work can be depicting the struggles that young men, particularly those from a family of a minority, face when high standards are imposed upon them by both their elders and the culture they are raised in. We see this frequently with those raised in immigrant families, as their parents or grandparents who made great sacrifices for them to live in America feel that they need to take full advantage of the new opportunities granted to them. The depiction of the complex shapes and colors in the chest cavity can be referencing the abstract emotions that come with this inner struggle. Chico Sierra never graduated high school and decided to pursue art as a career, so this could reflect an inner conflict he has faced as a result of that. The sun and its beams radiating from where his head is could be indicative of the value we place on a person’s ideas, intellect, and decision making while we ignore the inner feelings that come along with those things. This work was a little harder to decipher the meaning of, but I believe this makes it that much better.
Chico Sierra’s exhibition is a complex, colorful, and vastly layered one. With several other works exploring similar themes as the ones we’ve discussed, this exhibition is immensely interesting and thought-provoking. Throughout the sea of complicated messages in these pieces, one thing remains clear: Chico Sierra is staying true to his cultural identity and roots and is committed to opening viewers’ eyes to the struggles that indigenous peoples and their culture have faced.
Susannah Gray is a Spring 2025 Graduate of the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Interior Design, with a Minor in Art.