"Offerings and Devotions"

On Friday, August 8th, 2008 at 6:00 p.m., La Llorona Art Gallery welcomes visiting artists Jose Orantes and Blanca Santander with an opening reception for the exhibition “Offerings and Devotions”.  This collaborative show will feature vibrant acrylic paintings from these two distinctive Seattle artists with subjects that are derived from artist’s relationship to their local environment and culture.

The Latino community in Seattle, Washington has been a prosperous environment for the development of fine arts.  The cultural richness and the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest is reflected in the work of both Jose Orantes and Blanca Santander. 

In Jose Orantes most recent series he creatively challenges perspective and stimulates the imagination through his dynamic representation of cathedrals.  His generous use of color, expressionistic brush strokes, and organic lines when applied to architectural subjects convey a unique spiritual quality.  Jose Orantes states, “My churches are buildings that steal elements from reality beyond the rules of design.” The movement that is evoked by his stylistic techniques transcends the buildings beyond their two-dimensional space and gives them a personality all of their own.

Jose Orantes’s work compliments that of Blanca Santander’s through their similar approach to color and line.  Santander’s subjects that primarily consist of female characters and elements from the natural world convey themes of femininity, motherhood, and love.  Santander states, “My spirit is reflected on my paintings.  My observations of the world link the viewer to my feelings, beliefs and meditations.”  In these imaginative compositions the figures float effortlessly through their dreamlike space provoking peaceful emotions.

The exhibition “Offerings and Devotions” will be open for public viewing from August 8th to August 22nd. Gallery Hours are Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.. 

The gallery is located at 1474 W. Webster Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. 

For further information or to arrange a private viewing appointment please contact Blair Driscoll, Visual Arts Coordinator at (206) 999-7778. 

From the beginning to the present works of Delilah Montoya, a Chicano artist, La Llorona brings to Chicago a “Retrospective” exhibition. These 22 works have been composed from the Guadalupe series to the Border series. This is an opportunity to review in one space Delilah Montoya’s cultural history, memory, and identity through photographs in Chicago knowing that the Chicano Movement is still very strong and very still alive. Delilah Montoya’s photographs picture people and places where the real gets magical and the magical gets real. The Latin American community in the United States starts at the border of Mexico and the United States and gets roots in the rough life where Delilah pictures them in prisons, boxing matches, and Sagrado Corazon. “Interpreted as an alternative to the mainstream, stands as a personal statement that evokes an identity. I aspire to originate the artist's voice," states Delilah Montoya. Her images range from large, colorful photographs to intriguing assemblages comprised of gauche, printing and photography.

“Born in Fort Worth and raised in Nebraska with deep roots in northern New Mexico, my work explores the lived reality of the Mexican American community. Working in a variety of photographic and printing processes as well as creating multimedia installations I aim to generate conversations that are densely textured and provocatively layered with aesthetic, spiritual, and political meaning” states Delilah.

Delilah Montoya received her B.A. in Studio Art from the University of New Mexico, and received her Associates Degree in Commercial Photography and Art from the Metropolitan Technical College in Omaha.