{"id":14132,"date":"2021-07-10T01:19:08","date_gmt":"2021-07-10T01:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/?p=14132"},"modified":"2021-07-10T01:19:08","modified_gmt":"2021-07-10T01:19:08","slug":"cultural-undertow-will-pull-you-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/cultural-undertow-will-pull-you-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Cultural Undertow Will Pull You In"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>There is something quite wonderful in the <em>Cultural Undertow<\/em>, something that allows the viewer to be pulled into the waters of observation willingly, and rebaptized in them. Curated by artist Narsiso Martinez, at Luna Anais Gallery in the Tin Flats exhibition space, <em>Cultural Undertow<\/em> offers a variety of works by two exciting LA-based artists, Gloria Gem S\u00e1nchez and Tidawhitney Lek. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/LA_6.7.21-69-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14135\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/LA_6.7.21-69-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/LA_6.7.21-69-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/LA_6.7.21-69-768x1151.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/LA_6.7.21-69-1025x1536.jpg 1025w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/LA_6.7.21-69-1366x2048.jpg 1366w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/LA_6.7.21-69-648x972.jpg 648w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/LA_6.7.21-69-128x192.jpg 128w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/LA_6.7.21-69-scaled.jpg 1708w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Working in acrylic and oil, Lek\u2019s exquisitely rendered figurative works shape involving depictions of viscerally recognizable moments in time, each filtered through a highly feminine and feminist sensibility. In one painting, a sinewy man, looking away from the viewer, glancing back toward a sunset sky, is carrying a bright pink bucket and one very large koi in Lek\u2019s \u201cBetween the Bucket and the Sun.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5413-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14138\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5413-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5413-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5413-648x864.jpg 648w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5413-144x192.jpg 144w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5413.jpg 1138w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In another, a female cat and dog, rear ends directed our way, vibrant sky and brilliant orange and yellow flowers as background, serve as a prescient double entendre in \u201cThe Pussy and the Bitch.\u201d  In another lovely work, \u201cEncounter,\u201d dark clouds rim an intense patch of blue, and a wall, topped by flowers, separate a woman\u2019s face from the reaching, hands and multi-colored nails of another woman on the other side of the wall. It\u2019s both elliptical short story and mystery \u2013 they could be a couple separated but longing to see one another, they could wish each other harm. The dark clouds and that brilliant sky \u2013 it portends many things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"917\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5399-1024x917.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14139\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5399-1024x917.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5399-300x269.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5399-768x688.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5399-648x580.jpg 648w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5399-214x192.jpg 214w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5399.jpg 1522w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Regardless of subject, Lek\u2019s use of startlingly vivid color, floral elements, and an underpinning of longing mark her as fresh and fascinating, a highly original talent taking both the figurative and the feminist to an entirely new and heightened level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5403-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14140\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5403-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5403-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5403-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5403-648x864.jpg 648w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5403-144x192.jpg 144w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5403-rotated.jpg 1512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Sanchez\u2019s work is entirely different, and yet Martinez\u2019 thoughtful, conversational curation binds the two artists\u2019 works into a cohesive and immersive experience. Sanchez offers a variety of lush mediums here. Her richly blue cyanotypes are haunting, some, as in the otherworldly figure revealed in &#8220;Twin Spirit&#8221; (far left), literally seem so; others are more abstract. Her archival photographs, like Lek\u2019s paintings, revel in original portrayals of floral elements that celebrate personal heritage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5401-1-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14142\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5401-1-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5401-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5401-1-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5401-1-648x864.jpg 648w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5401-1-144x192.jpg 144w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5401-1.jpg 1449w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps most involving are her mixed media works, from woven, vividly colored wall work such as the tapestry that is \u201cNocturne Before Dawn\u201d to her more sculptural work, each evoking something of the mystical and ritualistic, like \u201cAraw (Sun),\u201d consisting of a mix of shed snakeskin, bamboo, hojas de maiz, and faux hair. There is a strong element of the spiritual, even mystical, in each of these works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5398-1-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14145\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5398-1-768x1023.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5398-1-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5398-1-648x864.jpg 648w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5398-1-144x192.jpg 144w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5398-1.jpg 1022w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5402-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14144\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5402-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5402-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5402-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5402-648x864.jpg 648w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5402-144x192.jpg 144w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5402.jpg 1397w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Both artists\u2019 work arises in part from their family\u2019s cultural roots; for Sanchez it is a Xicana-Filipina heritage and for Lek, it is Cambodian. Martinez, having celebrated his own heritage through art, including a profound sense of respect and honor revealed in paintings of Mexican farmworkers in America, is no stranger to introducing intelligent cultural references and encouraging a broadening of viewer understanding and experience through art. His attention to intimate detail and his passionate respect for often under-represented communities is fully evident in this gracious, 18-work show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5410-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14146\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5410-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5410-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5410-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5410-648x864.jpg 648w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5410-144x192.jpg 144w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5410-rotated.jpg 1512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And while representing those outside the standard artistic mainstream, <em>Cultural Undertow<\/em> also serves as a galvanizing focal point for the diversity, beauty, and electrifying wonder that celebrates a variety of family backgrounds as well as an intensely feminine point of view. Perhaps most profoundly of all, the art allows us to see all of these elements as part of a beautiful, universally relatable and recognizable whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"http:\/\/diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5400-1-1-1024x768.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14147\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5400-1-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5400-1-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5400-1-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5400-1-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5400-1-1-648x486.jpg 648w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5400-1-1-256x192.jpg 256w, https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5400-1-1.jpg 1821w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The exhibition is on view at Luna Anais at Tin Flats, located at 1989 Blake Avenue, Los Angeles,\u00a0 through July 24<sup>th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Genie Davis; photos: Genie Davis<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There is something quite wonderful in the Cultural Undertow, something that allows the viewer to be pulled into the waters of observation willingly, and rebaptized in them. Curated by artist Narsiso Martinez, at Luna Anais Gallery in the Tin Flats exhibition space, Cultural Undertow offers a variety of works by two exciting LA-based artists, Gloria &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/cultural-undertow-will-pull-you-in\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Cultural Undertow Will Pull You In<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14147,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2,1],"tags":[1469,1470],"class_list":["post-14132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","category-uncategorized","tag-luna-anais","tag-narsiso-martinez"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_5400-1-1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14132"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14148,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14132\/revisions\/14148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diversionsla.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}