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The Center houses two gallery spaces, which feature local, regional, and national Latino/a artists. Admission is always free and tours available by advanced request.

"Indigenous Warriors and Rituals of MesoAmerica"

June 15th - September 1st
Monday-Friday 10am-6pm | Saturday 10am-4pm
Sam Z. Coronado Gallery

Andy's background as a Texan and a Hispanic male help form his aesthetics.  For the past twenty years the Mexican culture has been a major source of inspiration to him, the pride in Andy's culture creates an intense energy and enthusiasm to create his art. The Heart beat of the culture is the roots of what Villarreal's work is about. "I try to embrace and celebrate the richness of the culture and its achievements as well as the sadness of its demise. Indigenous people and deities from Yucatan interact in varying times and places in my art."

"De Aquí Soy"  by Ulises Garcia Vela

UPCOMING: "La Yerba Buena" by Peter F. Ortiz

September 15th - November 25th
Gallery Opening Reception Saturday, 9/15/18 6-8pm
Sam Z. Coronado Gallery

Peter F. Ortiz was born on December 20th, 1960 in Austin, TX and was raised in the Southeast Austin neighborhood of Montopolis. He developed his artistic style while living in L.A. and New York between 1981-1992, and his experiences in the richness of the arts and cultures in those cities added texture, depth and perspective to the experiences he had while growing up. Ortiz’s current studio is in the same Montopolis neighborhood, adding an important artistic voice to the cultural legacy of his family and to Latino Arts community in Austin.

“I feel my art is to be explored allowing for some interpretation. I absorb information or inspiration on a constant basis and believe subconsciously at the right time, this information will reflect in my work. Inspiration may be the structure of a plant and blossom, light, water or humankind at it’s best or worst, capturing an emotion at that time. I find pleasure in the application of mediums, watching the paint as it leaves my brush, ink as it bleeds into a puddle of water, pastels as they melt onto the surface or pencil appearing to be soft on a surface. This sensory experience even has an influence on the artwork itself. In my images or stories, I describe some as spiritual or earthly matters using people in not so ordinary colors to connect with all races, fish, water and plants. I try not to use contemporary elements or clothing in belief this keeps my work timeless.” - Peter F. Ortiz

Outdoor Sculptures

Maya (2017)
Limestone
by Reynaldo Alaniz

Reynaldo Alaniz was commissioned by the City of Austin to create Maya, a hand-carved limestone sculpture of an abstract female figure.  The piece was commissioned by TEMPO, the Austin Art in Public Places temporary public art program. Maya was exhibited in Austin's Edward Rendon Sr. Park in November 2017 as part of the East Austin Studio Tour, and can now be viewed in the Zócalo of the ESB-MACC on a one-year loan from the artist.

The sculpture was inspired by a Mayan figure called a Chacmool, which is a type of stone statue that has been found at archaeological sites such as the Mayan pyramid of Chichén Itzá and several Aztec sites near Mexico City. The Chacmool is a reclining figure whose head is turned completely to the side, legs raised, with a flat area on the abdomen where sacrifices were placed. There is no definitive knowledge of where and when they originated but archaeologists have associated them with the Aztec rain deity Tlaloc due to markings found on some of the Chacmools.

Maya is a hand-carved limestone sculpture that invites the viewer to consider the history of Mexico's indigenous past. The placement of the sculpture in relation to the ESB-MACC building is reminiscent of the Chacmools placed outside Mesoamerican temples. Maya isn't an exact replica of a Chacmool, but is a modern adaptation that uses simplified lines and minimal detail to evoke the presence of the ancient figure while holding its own as a contemporary art piece

Exoskeleton (2017)
a sculpture piece by 
Victor Pérez-Rul

Exoskeleton is solar hardware, steel, and powder coating. Exoskeleton is a site-specific public sculpture for the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center, designed by Mexican artist Victor Pérez-Rul whose artistic labor evolves around the empiric development of energy research through the multidisciplinary approach to science, technology, and art. Exoskeleton generates, stores and processes energy through its solar panels, specifically designed to produce an electromagnetic spectrum. Its relation to the environment shapes its behavior. Exoskeleton exists through a technological system in relation with the environment that enables stages of wakefulness and sleepiness, life and death, and the apparently motionless lifeless stage. "Renewable energy is key to its essence and purpose, to accomplish this collaboration with Solartec, a Mexican company specialized on solar energy. This project was accomplished thanks to the ESB-MACC, and to the donors involved: the University of Texas at Austin: Visual Arts Center, Victor Pérez-Rul and Solartec."

ABOUT THE SAM Z. CORONADO GALLERY

The Sam Z. Coronado Gallery honors one of the most important figures in Austin’s Latino arts community. An accomplished visual artist who specialized in printmaking, Coronado was instrumental in establishing many foundational Latino arts organizations, from the Chicano Art Students Association he helped create as a University of Texas student to the Mexic-Arte Museum, the state’s official Mexican and Mexican-American art museum, which he co-founded in 1984 with Sylvia Orozco and Pio Pulido.

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SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Proposals are accepted year-round, and due to the large number of submissions received, ESB-MACC cannot guarantee immediate review of proposals. Submissions will not be returned.  Emailed proposals will not be reviewed.   All work samples should be of good quality. Please do not send originals as we cannot accept liability for damage or loss.  To apply, please complete the gallery application below.

Gallery Application

Please note: Exhibitions are subject to change. Check your local listings for current information and opening reception dates.