Statement
I am an interdisciplinary queer L.A. based artist that works with paintings, print media, digital media, and artist books. My work embraces the art tradition from Mesoamerica to explore how historical events are interconnected and reverberate into the present.
My work blends pre-Columbian iconography, generational myths, oral folklore, and contemporary pop culture to collapse the centuries separating the different artforms. My palette, depiction of the human body and surreal environments are influenced by the surviving pre-Columbian codices, murals, and ceramic figurines to affirm my presence as a Chicano in the United States and to reclaim my indigenous history.
As a Chicano, I inherit the cultures of Mexico and the United States but remain separate from both. I explore this amalgamation throughout my work to celebrate my intimate experience with both cultures and to examine the post-colonial histories of both places.
My work seeks to reveal the present as the inevitable outcome of interconnected past events and decisions. By seeing the past clearly, we can ask the right questions of the present to actively shape the future.
Bio
Israel graduated with a bachelors from the University of California Santa Cruz in 2011 and acquired an MFA from the University of Wisconsin‐Madison in 2015. His work is in the permanent collections of the Kohler Art Library, the UCSC Digital Art Research Center, the Zuckerman Museum of Art, and the Oregon College of Art and Craft. He has exhibited in venues across the country, including the ArtHelix Gallery in New York City, the Ronna and Eric Hoffman Gallery of Contemporary Art in Portland and is an active member of the Vox Pop printmaking artist collective and the California Society of Printmakers. He also runs and operates Chayote Press.
CV
EDUCATION
2015 MFA, Studio Art (Digital Media), University of Wisconsin, Madison
2014 MA, Studio Art (Digital Media), University of Wisconsin, Madison
2011 BA, Art and Mathematics, University of California, Santa Cruz
EXHIBITION RECORD
SOLO
2024 Cleansing of the Sentinels, 2nd Story, Lexington, KY
2018 Our Lady of Angels, Digital Research Center, University of California, Santa Cruz
2015 Gloria, Art Lofts Gallery, Madison, WI
2014 Ordinarily Extraordinary, UW Humanities Gallery, Madison, WI
2011 Visions of the Holy Cross, Cowel Dizikes Art Cases, Santa Cruz, CA
SELECTED GROUP
2024 Nexus, Gallery Marzen, Madison, WI
2024 Ritual, Angel City Brewery, Los Angeles, CA
2023 Content 2023, The Artery Gallery, Davis, CA
2023 Por el Pueblo: The Legacy and Influence of Malaquias Montoya, The Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA
2023 Metamorphosis, The 3110 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2023 28th Parkside National Print Exhibition, UW-Parkside Fine Arts Gallery, Kenosha, WI
2022 My Neighborhood/Mi Barrio, South Gate Museum and Art Gallery, South Gate, CA
2022 Mark of Empowerment, Emily Davis Gallery, Akron, OH
2022 Reclaiming Identity, Trout Museum of Art, Appleton, WI
2022 Wild Life, Center for the Arts Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, CA
2022 Burnt Water, Edgewood College Gallery, Madison, WI
2022 Our Shared Future, Union South Gallery 1308, Madison, WI
2022 Re•Vision!, Overture Center for the Arts, Madison, WI
2021 International Mokuhanga Conference, Nara Kasugano International Forum, Nara, Japan
2021 Searching for Meaning, Gallery Round One, Point Reyes Station, CA
2021 CONTENT, The Artery Gallery, Davis, CA
2021 West/Midwest, Edgewood College Gallery, Madison, WI
2019 Devil’s Dictionary: Traveling Art Show, Gallery 224, Port Washington, WI
2018 Response, Art Helix Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2018 Día de Los Muertos Art Show, The City of Baldwin Park Arts & Recreation Center, Baldwin Park, CA
2018 Fresh Vision: Locality & Juncture, Juanita Lowe Art Gallery, Imperial, CA
2017 Response, ArtHelix Gallery, Brooklyn,NY
2017 The Fold. Double Unfolding, 3rd International project of graphical interaction,
Proyecto ACE, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Academie Royale des Beaux-Arts de Liege, Belgium
Collectif “lmpression(s)” Liege, Belgium
Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, Canada
Aarhus Kunstakademi, Denmark
University of California, Santa Cruz, USA
Universidade de Porto, Portugal
Academy of Fine Arts of NoviSad, Serbia
2016 Criminal, Overture Center for the Arts Gallery I, Madison, WI
2016 Hot off the Press, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Australia
2014 Just the Tip, Art Lofts Gallery, University of Wisconsin, Madison
2014 Surface Tension, UW Humanities Gallery, Madison, WI
2014 Capitol Lakes 6th Annual MFA Exhibition, Capitol Lakes, Madison, WI
RECOGNITIONS & AWARDS
2022 gener8tor Art Grant, gener8tor, Madison, WI
2022 Juror’s Choice Award, eMerge, California Society of Printmakers
2021 BrainMind Residency, Hbomberguy Studios
2021 Juror’s Choice Award, Traces of Print Day in May, printdayinmay.com
2018 Digital Arts Research Center Residency, University of California, Santa Cruz
2012 Dean’s Fellowship, University of Wisconsin, Madison
2011 Irwin Grant, University of California, Santa Cruz
2011 National SMART Grant, University of California, Santa Cruz
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
Digital Arts Research Center, University of California, Santa Cruz
dx5 – Digital & Graphic Art Research Center, Universidad de Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain
Kohler Art Library, University of Wisconsin, Madison
Oregon College of Art and Craft, Portland, Oregon
University Library, Special Collections & Archives, University of California, Santa Cruz
Zuckerman Museum of Art, Kennesaw State University, Georgia
WORKSHOPS & LECTURES
2022 Artist Lecture, 2nd Story, Lexington, KY
2022 Religious Syncretism, Trout Museum of Art, Appleton, WI
2022 Mexica Realism, Sherman Phoenix Marketplace, Milwaukee, WI
2022 Prophetic History of California, Edgewood College, Madison, WI
2020 Visual Vocabulary of Mesoamerica, University of California, Santa Cruz
2018 Digital Chine-Colle for Intaglio Printmaking, University of California, Santa Cruz
2015 Photo-Etching with ImageOn & PurEtch, University of Wisconsin, Madison
2014 Transparencies for Photo-Based Printmaking, University of Wisconsin, Madison
PORTFOLIO EXCHANGE
2024 Heliocentric, Curator: Lisa Wicka, University of Wisconsin, Green Bay
2024 Point of Origin, Curators: Jimin Lee & Bridget Henry, University of California, Santa Cruz
2022 Points of Departure III, Curators: Barry Carlsen & Andy Rubin, University of Wisconsin, Madison
2021 Extraction, Curator: Karen Gallagher Iverson, California Society of Printmakers
2021 eMerge, Curator: Erica Barajas, California Society of Printmakers
2020 The Devil’s Dictionary, Curator: Barry Carlsen, Vox Pox
2016 Criminal, Curators: Ryan Cain & Luke Johnson, University of Wisconsin, Madison
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Chayote Press
2021 – Present, Master Printmaker, Los Angeles, CA
CHP 101: Relief Printmaking
CHP 201: Mokuhanga Printmaking
CHP 301: Intaglio Printmaking
CHP 401: Multidisciplinary Printmaking
CHP 501: Independent Study
Los Angeles Pacific College
2015 – Present, Part-Time Faculty, Los Angeles, CA
CGD 133: Typography Design
CGD 135: Drawing for Graphic Design
CGD 150: Portfolio and Professional Practices
CGD 260: Principles of Graphic Design I
Los Angeles City College
2018, Faculty Intern, Los Angeles, CA
ART 201: Drawing I
Long Beach City College
2017, Faculty Intern, Long Beach, CA
ART 19: Life Drawing
University of Wisconsin, Madison
2014 – 2015, Teaching Assistant [Instructor of Record], Madison, WI
ART 107: Digital Foundations
RESEACH AND TEACHING INTERESTS
Art of Mesoamerica; codices, murals, and clay sculptures
Pre-Colombian history of the Americas
Mexican folk Catholicism and its amalgamation with pre-Colombian beliefs
Indigenous land stewardship and the impact of climate change
Print media and the multiple
Digital art and print installations
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
California Society of Printmakers, San Francisco, CA
Vox Populi, Madison, WI
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Chayote Press, Owner and Master Printmaker
Languages
Spanish: Native