Ernesto+Cuevas+Jr.

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=Ernesto Cuevas, Jr.=

Born in “the Valley” town of Harlingen, Texas, Ernesto Cuevas Jr. was raised in the complex world of Chicano identity, which is now the fuel for his creative journey. Ernesto’s art contains autobiographical elements, recently focusing on his years with parents who were migrant farm workers. Cuevas aims to achieve a “cultural reconnect" through icons and images representing the struggles and celebrations of Chicano life.

Cuevas’ childhood was the culmination of two worlds. Food, music, festivities and religion heavy in tradition tied to his Mexican ancestry were merged with the common American experience of hamburgers, hotdogs, Disney World and rock and roll. His job as a child was to find his place in the “//Wonderland”// that was Plant City Florida, a small farming town in central Florida. This process would eventually become the foundation of his creative development. Chickens, barbed wire, strawberry fields, the hunched over backs of migrant field workers and priests holding mass in chicken farm freezers are all memories that offer to Ernesto’s visual vocabulary.

Cuevas attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire where he majored in studio art, with a concentration in oil panting. Ernesto faced the initial culture shock of climate and geography but his classes and interaction with fellow students put him in a situation to consider issues of self, identity and belonging. Cuevas’ surroundings brought out the issues he wanted to address in his art and reaffirmed why he chose to be an artist. Forcing him to face issues of race, religion, socio-economic status and social consciousness, Dartmouth provided discovery. As his creative expression was being developed he realized that his art was a clear channel for his personal voice. His works are symbolic of that voice. His paintings tie together traditional icons, modern experiences, his love of earth and all things organic, issues facing society, Chicano identity, and the space in which all of these things intersect.

-Ernesto Cuevas