Rasquachismo Artist Discussion

The Huntington Beach Art Center presents Rasquachismo, an exhibition examining the role of lowriders as a cultural vehicle for Chicanx communities.  The show narrative presents artwork centered on the workforce, manual labor, and empowerment through creative expression. Vibrant paintings, a lowrider pinata, print-making, and original photography capture a movement unique to Southern California.

Rasquachismo is a term coined by Chicano scholar and art critic Tomás Ybarra-Frausto to describe “an underdog perspective, a view from los de abajo” (from below) in working class Chicanx communities which uses elements of “hybridization, juxtaposition, and integration” as a means of empowerment and resistance. The exhibiting artists reflect the spirit of Rasquachismo through the elevation of mundane mediums and the endurance of Chicanx narratives.

Unapologetically visible, lowriders glisten in candy-colored paint and dance with the aid of hydraulics. The power of lowriding extends beyond the car’s aesthetics, however. It has become a rasquachismo expression of Mexican-American, and, eventually, Chicanx identity.  ~ Laura Black, guest curator

The selected artists employ a practice that depict labor-intensive work of the lowriders’ performative nature, paying homage to the working hand, historical craft traditions, and professions rooted in labor.

Organized by guest curator Laura Black, Golden West College Gallery Director, Rasquachismo features artworks by contemporary artists William Camargo, Alkaid Ramirez, Justin Favela, Stephanie Mercado, Arturo Meza II, Aaron Moctezuma, José Manuel Flores Nava, Juliana Rico, Alicia Villegas-Rolon, and Cora J. Quiroz.