LUIS A. SAHAGÚN
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ABOUT
Luis A. Sahagún (B. 1982) Born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, he creates paintings, performances, and sculptures that confront the palpable inescapability of race, transforming them into acts of cultural reclamation. Like DNA strings of mestizaje, his practice sits at the intersections of contradictions — indian/conqueror, violence/unity, and ancient/contemporary. As the grandson of a Curandera and a practitioner of Curanderismo, Luis makes art that conjures indigenous spiritualities to embody personal histories, cultural resistance, and colonial disruption. As a formerly undocumented immigrant and laborer, Luis reveals the aesthetics of relocation and transgenerational trauma by utilizing building materials such as silicone, lumber, drywall, concrete, and hardware - symbols representing working class immigrants.
Luis has exhibited widely at venues including the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art (Roswell, NM), Latchkey Gallery NYC, Charlie James Gallery (Los Angeles), Arvika Art Gallery (Sweden), The National Museum of Mexican Art (Chicago), and the Chicago Cultural Center, among others. His work has been examined in publications including Artforum, the Los Angeles Times, Newcity, New American Paintings, andHyperallergic. His practice has been spotlighted as having a unique voice helping to shape, shift, and touch the world on radio, podcasts, and television networks such as MundoFOX, NBC, UNIVISION and WBEZ-NPR. Sahagun has held residencies at Roswell, NM; Oaxaca, Mexico; the Chicago Artist Coalition; Mana Contemporary in Miami; The Sally and Don Lucas Artists Residency Program (Montalvo), Saratoga, CA; and was an Artist in Residence for Critical Race Studies at Michigan State University. His work is included in the Fidelity Collection of Boston, Alta Med Collection of Los Angeles, and the Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection, among others. Sahagun received his undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and his MFA from Northern Illinois University. He is a 3Arts awardee and a 2024 Center for Craft WNC Artist in Resident.
WORKS
Amuleto no. 2, 2024
Gorilla glue, charcoal, paper, beads, beeswax, feathers, glitter, and found objects.
13 x 10 x 1 in.
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Against Domination: Material Distortion and Turbulent Faiths
by Alex Santana
”Luis A. Sahagun’s works mine personal mythologies to underscore how the historical violences of religion and colonial conquest appear in our own lives, as well as those of our family and extended communities. In multimedia works that drip accumulatively, protrude from the surface, and juxtapose unlikely elements, Sahagun evokes the colloquial items that inform the ideologies imposed on us. The continual reappearance of stretched, distorted faces in his work further suggests how these imposed social orders manifest as psychological distresses, creating a liminal space with possibilities for healing through ancestral connection.”
The Cross & the Sword no. 1, 2024
Beeswax, beads, feathers, resin, beetle wings, sea shells, and found objects.
21 x 15 x 9 in.
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The Cross & the Sword no. 7, 2024
Gorilla glue, beads, glitter, and found objects
19 x 8 x 4 in.
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The Cross & the Sword no. 2, 2024
Beeswax, beads, feathers, resin, and found objects.
24 x 9 x 4 in.
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Perpetual Ceremony no. 03 (Limpia for Aislyn Whitney), 2024
Charcoal, beads, beeswax, seashells, feathers, glitter, clay, maiz, cobija san marcos, on osb
19 x 4 x 2 in.
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ADDITIONAL WORKS
EXHIBITIONS
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LatchKey Gallery | 173 Henry Street | info@latchkeygallery.com | 646.213.9070