Rooted in Our Latinx Heritage
Latinx Artist Exhibition 2023
Sep. 15 – Oct. 13, 2023
Decatur Arts Alliance Gallery
Inside the Decatur Visitors Center,
113 Clairemont Ave.
On view daily
from 10 am to 4 pm
The Decatur Arts Alliance is, once again, partnering with Placita Latina to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month! Come view “Rooted in Our Latinx Heritage” at the DAA gallery from Sep. 15 – Oct. 13, 2023.
In celebration of the depth that the Latinx world brings to our society, Placita Latina presents its 3rd annual invitational art exhibition. Seven Latinx artists with diverse backgrounds and representing seven countries, come together to share their perspectives and stories in a month-long art exhibition.
The Artists
Chris Alvarez
(he/him/el)
alvarezanimates.com
IG: @pitoto.alvarez
Spain
Originally from Madrid, Spain, Chris Alvarez now calls Atlanta home. Receiving a BFA in Animation, Alvarez has been creating award-winning content for television for over a decade. Heavily influenced by cartoons, pop culture, and the human figure, his work is ever changing and evolving.
Alvarez also loves painting murals with his wife, reading comics, and eating fries.
“Blue” by Chris Alvarez
Julián Díaz Gonzalez
(he/him/el)
juliandiazart.com
IG: @juliandiazgonzalez
Mexico
Julián Díaz Gonzalez is an oil painter based in Gainesville, Georgia. A self-taught artist, Díaz incorporates cultural elements from his Mexican background into his work.
His portraits highlight subjects from his Mexican heritage. Díaz’s medium of choice is oil and he strives is to show cultural diversity and modern styles to subvert stereotypes through fine art.
“Aztec Speech” by Julián Díaz Gonzalez
Patricio Marín
(he/him/el)
FB: Patricio Marin Arte
IG: @patriciomarinarte
Nicaragua
Patricio Marín is a Nicaraguan painter from Susucayan, Nueva Segovia. After high school, while searching for direction, he took the suggestion of his mother and priest and left Nicaragua to take a drawing and painting course at the School of Fine Arts in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. While there, Marín found himself at home immersed in color and pigments. In 2000, he returned to Nicaragua to dedicate his life to painting. Since then, Marín has painted landscapes using lithographic ink in the “style of Bob Ross” and his technique has evolved to oil on canvas and aluminum panel in a hyper realistic style.
“Soy un copiador de la realidad, mi intención es tomar fragmentos de la belleza y guardarlos en un lienzo.”
“I replicate reality with my works, and my intention is to take fragments of the world’s natural beauty and record them on canvas.“
Marín has exhibited his work in Nicaragua, Honduras, England and
The United States.
“5000 Millas, A Migrant Journey” by Patricio Marín
Cristina Montesinos
(she/her/ella)
cristinamontesinos.com
IG: @cristina_c_montesinos
Costa Rica and Ecuador
Cristina Montesinos is a third generation Latin American artist living and working in Atlanta. Now a full-time painter and curator, she spent the first 25 years of her career as a graphic designer and creative director.
Born and raised in Costa Rica into a large, Ecuadorian family of artists,
Montesinos has a rich foundation for her work and life as an international artist.
Her greatest inspiration comes from her deep passion for and connection to nature after spending most of her time outdoors as a child. Drawing on her daily mindful practices and embracing her gentle, quiet, observational nature, Montesinos’s paintings capture the mystery and healing power of the natural world.
Some of her series also reflect her responses to the often difficult happenings in our world. Montesinos is also currently exhibiting work in Nuestras Huellas in Marietta, and later this fall she will be also be exhibiting her work in Ibiza, Spain.
“Island Breeze” by Cristina Montesinos
Maite Nazario
(they/them/elle)
maitenazario.com
IG: @maitexnazario
Guatemala and Puerto Rico
Maite Nazario is a queer, non-binary, Guatemalan and Puerto Rican multidisciplinary artist with a focus on activism. They create art to honor their community so that their art can serve as a testament of love. Nazario’s work highlights the lives of resilient people who shine despite a world that tries to take their light.
Nazario’s hope is that their art creates empathy in people’s hearts and opens them up to listen to the valuable lived experiences of others.
“#NuestroAmor-Saray Figuereo” by Maite Nazario
Karenlie Riddering
(she/her/ella)
IG: @creativekphotos
[email protected]
Puerto Rico
Karenlie Riddering was born and raised in Puerto Rico, and her interest in photography began at a young age. Now a multi-disciplinary artist, Riddering published her first book, Puerto Rico Encanto Oculto, in 2005, a collection of her photographs that also became a best-seller. Riddering holds a BA in Fine Arts and a MS in Information Design and Communication. She has published a total of eight books.
In 2006 Riddering moved to Georgia to pursue graduate studies. In 2008, she founded Creative Kaleidoscope, a bilingual communications and creative services company, through which she produces documentaries, offers voice overs, copywriting, editing, and translating services. Insider’s Guide to Puerto Rico, the company’s first feature-length travel documentary, now streams on Amazon Prime.
Riddering loves creating art, traveling, foraging for mushrooms, and tasting new foods. She is the mother of two incredible daughters who keep her days busy and full of laughter.
“En Una Mirada” by Karenlie Riddering
Melvin Toledo
(he/him/el)
melvintoledo.com
IG: @melvintoledo
Nicaragua
Melvin Toledo is a self-taught, Nicaraguan born artist based in Atlanta. His work ranges from still life to portraiture as well as landscape painting. Toledo is currently working in a series of portraits of immigrants living in the United States.
Through this work, he shares the stories of people of different ethnicities and backgrounds to celebrate and honor their life, their work, and their culture. Toledo explores the complexities of immigrant experience in a country that claims to be made by and for immigrants while continually rejecting newly arriving immigrants.
Recent exhibitions include Something to Declare at the Marietta Cobb Museum of Art and the Quinlan Arts Center in Gainesville, GA; Bullets and Bandaids Volume 4 traveling exhibition; New York Latin American Triennial in NYC. In April 2022, he won the 2D People’s Choice Award at Artfields, Lake City, SC.
“El Bailador” by Melvin Toledo
Artists Reception
Friday, Oct. 13
6:30 – 9:30 pm
Placita Latina will celebrate the closing of its month-long gallery showing of the Latinx artists exhibition with an artists’ reception on October 13. A live DJ will play music throughout the evening and exhibiting artists will speak about their works. An outdoor mini-market with Latinx food, drinks, and a selection of artist works will ensure a lively reception!
The Gallery
The Decatur Arts Alliance Gallery is located inside the Decatur Visitors Center at 113 Clairemont Ave., Decatur, Georgia, 30030. The exhibition is open to the public for viewing daily from 10 am – 4 pm.
More About Placita Latina
Celebrate Latinx culture in Decatur during and beyond Hispanic Heritage Month with a colorful and historical series of events from Sept. 15 – Oct. 30, 2023. Placita Latina (“small, Latina plaza”) is a series of weekly mini-events highlighting Hispanic/Latinx narratives, performance, food, culture and contributions to our local community — and greater society. These events will include a mix of Latinx-inspired music, dance, art, education, and flavors. For more events go to placitalatinaga.com.
Past Exhibitions
