La Peña presents “Los Cuatro Vientos” at Julia C. Butridge Gallery in the Dougherty Arts Center. The exhibit runs from January 14th through February 20th with a reception taking place on Thursday, January 18th from 6:00 - 8:00 pm.This exhibition features the artwork of:

• Santa Barraza
• Karen Barratt
• Cecilia Colomé
• Sam Coronado
• Cecilia Sánchez Duarte
• Ana Fuentes
• Luis Guerra
• Luis Gutiérrez
• Ester Hernandez
• Cesar Martinez
• Adolfo Mexiac
• Peter Ortiz
• Ana Sisnett
• Jose F. Treviño
• Raúl Valdez
• Liliana Wilson

In the Ameridian existence, Los Cuarto Vientos was indicative of the Four Directions.  The rising sun from the East was symbolic of a new beginning, illumination, and enlightenment; while the night which was initiated in the West was a reflection of introspective and intuitive awakening, the subconscious.  For those that practiced tribal sweat lodges (temazcales) and still continue to do so, when the incense (copal) was being raised to the South, it was to honor mother earth (la madre tierra), who gave birth to the presence of all living things.  Raising it to the North, one was honoring those who had moved on to the upper world known as the spirit world, wisdom, and knowledge.

As the viewer journeys through this exhibition and begins to reflect, perhaps the subconscious will recall and materialize some personal memories.  For some, this memory may be a collective remembrance of an ancestral and indigenous interpretation of humankind’s connection to mother-nature.  This maternal philosophy shared elements of a firm belief that the mind was connected to the physical and mental; while the heart was linked to the emotional and spiritual element.