CULTURES COLLIDE IN MIND-BLOWING PHILBROOK EXHIBITION
Collidoscope: de la Torre Brothers Retro-Perspective runs February 7-April 28
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
“The complexities of the immigrant experience and contradicting bicultural identities, as well as our current life and practice on both sides of the border, really propel our narrative and aesthetics…” –The de la Torre Brothers
TULSA, OK., February 7, 2024— Collidoscope: de la Torre Brothers Retro-Perspective—a title that plays with the words “kaleidoscope” and “retrospective”—features dozens of colorful multi-media blown-glass objects and elaborately framed lenticular prints that span the spectacular, genre-defying careers of artists and brothers Einar and Jamex de la Torre.
Born in Guadalajara, Mexico (1963 and 1960, respectively), Einar and Jamex de la Torre have for decades lived, worked, and collaborated on both sides of the San Diego/Tijuana border. The results of this sibling partnership are multi-dimensional and multi-sensory small and large-scale works that draw upon American, Indigenous, and Mexican traditions. This exhibition features twenty-nine blown-glass objects involving found objects encased in resin presented alongside eleven lenticular prints, all of which are layered with everything from pre-conquest Mesoamerican imagery to contemporary Pop spectacle, from religious iconography from consumer culture, from histories of craft and folk art to the future of technology.
Organized by The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of Riverside Art Museum (The Cheech) and Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino, Collidoscope: de la Torre Brothers Retro-Perspective is reverent and playful toward Latinx and American experiences. With this exhibition, Einar and Jamex de la Torre offer a window into the rich creative world that exists when perspectives and traditions collide.
PRESS IMAGES AND CAPTIONS HERE
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Press/Image Contact:
Jeff Martin, Director of Communications
JMartin@philbrook.org
918.697.9042 (m)
918.748.5352 (o)
ARTISTS IN CONVERSATION: Einar and Jamex de la Torre
Moderated by Kate Green, Philbrook Chief Curator & Nancy E. Meinig Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art
What is your favorite taco joint, and why?
“’Tacos El Franc’ in Tijuana is our favorite. They have wonderful pairings of taco filling and salsa. Also, we have been going there for over thirty years, so it holds taco memories.”
What are you reading right now?
“Jamex: Flights by Olga Tokarczuk
Einar: The Atlantic Magazine”
What is a film that made a particular impression on you?
“Clockwork Orange! Also, Pedro Almodóvar’s movies.”
What famous artist or figure from history would you like to drink tequila with?
“Mark Twain, just to absorb his unrelenting wit.”
Why are lenticulars so intriguing? To you…to visitors….
“Lenticulars have so much information in the substrate and even more hidden gems as you move sideways.”
What do you find special about working with glass?
“Glass is the most spontaneous of sculptural mediums. The collaborative ‘dance’ is never boring, a little different each time.”
What is a fun fact about one of your artworks?
“Baja Kali, made in 1995, is the earliest work in the show. It traveled on a bus with the Lollapalooza music festival in 1996 or so!”
Why so much absurdity, or humor in your art?
“We see humor as a hook to reel the viewer in. Hopefully then they can see other layers to the work. And we do need humor to cope with the absurdity of human reality!”
Collisions—temporal, cultural, material—are everywhere in your work. Why?
“The interconnectedness of the seemingly unrelated is how we make sense of the world. We imagine a phantom network that ties everything, in entanglements.”
About Philbrook Museum of Art
Philbrook Museum of Art is committed to being Tulsa’s most welcoming and engaging cultural institution, providing a unique trifecta of experiences: a historic home, world class art museum, 25 acres of gardens.
Philbrook Museum of Art opened on October 25, 1939. The addition of a 70,000 square foot wing in 1990 turned the historic home into a modern museum complex. A major garden renovation in 2004 cemented the Museum’s reputation as “the most beautiful place in Oklahoma.”
Through bold action and strategic investment, we create a space for new ideas, diverse stories and perspectives, and social connection. The Philbrook Collection features more than 16,000 objects with a focus on American, Native American, and European art. Serving over 160,000 visitors annually, Philbrook shines a light on Tulsa’s storied and complex past while building a diverse and creative vision of the city’s future.
