Various Small Fires is pleased to present Street Views, a solo presentation by Dallas-based artist Antonio Lechuga. In this recent body of work, Lechuga extends his use of cobijas, or Mexican fleece blankets, to sew compositions that reflect on ideas of community, care, and invisible labor.
Lechuga’s interest in cobijas as a material is two-fold. Physically, the fleece material is printed with an array of images in an expansive spectrum of colors so that it serves as an ideal ready-made color palette. Conceptually, the blankets speak to comfort and care, two pillars that remain central to Lechuga’s practice. He has used them to upholster wall-sized gate structures that speak to the ongoing border relations between Texas and Mexico. In more recent work, the material has been broken down and sewn together to construct narrative-driven compositions that explore personal and cultural stories of resilience, including his own tale of surviving an act of gun violence.
For Street Views, Lechuga pays homage to a community of small businesses in Dallas’ Oak Cliff neighborhood. Jefferson Boulevard lies at the heart of this historically Black and Brown neighborhood and is lined with jewel boxes of family-run storefronts. Most notably, numerous windowcases display rows of ornate quinceanera dresses, a symbol of hard work and commitment to generations of families celebrating the coming of age of teenagers in Oak Cliff and beyond. Lechuga meticulously crafts depictions of these storefronts in the cobija fabric to preserve their legacy in a time of gradual change on the street brought upon by gentrification. As rent increases and client preferences shift, Lechuga sheds light on the dedication and labor of the marginalized communities that are often affected first.
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Antonio Lechuga (b. 1985) is a multidisciplinary artist who was born and currently lives in Dallas, TX. He attended Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in Los Angeles, CA. He has had solo exhibitions at Daisha Board Gallery, Dallas, TX; Oak Cliff Cultural Center, Dallas; and Love Texas Art, Fort Worth, TX. Recent group exhibitions include MASS Gallery, Austin, TX; Bath House Cultural Center, Dallas; Irving Archives and Museum, Irving, TX; 500X Gallery, Dallas; RO2 Gallery, Dallas; Craighead Green Gallery; Dallas, TX. Antonio’s work is part of the permanent collections of the Dallas Museum of Art and private collections across the U.S. He is represented by Daisha Board Gallery, Dallas.