San Antonio’s David Zamora Casas pays tribute to COVID-19 dead in Día de los Muertos art show
- Courtesy of Bihl Haus Art Gallery
With paintings and multiple themed, devotional altars, San Antonio-based artist David Zamora Casas will tranform Bihl Haus Art Gallery into a large-scale Día de los Muertos ofrenda.
Titled “Love and Death in Times of Pandemic/Amor y La Muerte en Tiempos de Pandemia,” the exhibition will open Monday, November 2. It will be available to view in person and online through December 12.
“This Texas-inspired contemporary Día de Muertos ofrenda fuses Aztec, Catholic, pagan, Chicana/o and queer culture elements to re-envision the Mexican grand formal altars of the Catholic church, el campo santo/graveyard and home domestic altars,” Casas said in a statement.
Casas added that his work seeks to preserve tradition and cultural heritage, as well as “comment on contemporary social and political issues through paintings, photographs, dioramas and flowers that enhance this sacred ritual site for this celebration, meditation, collective healing, unification and mourning in the continuance of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the Covid-19 national disaster.”
- Courtesy of Bihl Haus Art Gallery
- Casas has built ofrendas in the public forum in San Antonio for three decades.
In recognition of El Día de Los Angelitos or Day of Angel, which is commemorated on November 1, the exhibition will also include “Make Water Pure Again, Bring My Baby Back to Life Again,” an ofrenda dedicated to deceased children and infants.
Bihl Haus will host virtual events in connection with “Love and Death in Times of Pandemic” every two week. The gallery will allow a maximum of 10 people to view the installation on-site during 30 minute slots on select weekends from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
The first in-person viewings will be held on November 7 and 8, with all CDC and city COVID-19 guidelines observed.
For more information and to make reservations, visit the Bihl Haus Art Gallery website.
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