Amor Mio by Moises Salazar Tlatenchi will be on view in our 2nd floor display cases through July 31st. Join us for an opportunity to meet the artist and enjoy complimentary refreshments at the Library in the Drawing Room.

About the Artist

Moises Salazar Tlatenchi is a non-binary artist based in Chicago, Illinois. Tlatenchi holds a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Tlatenchi’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at WOAW Gallery, Salon ACME 8, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, NADA, National Museum of Mexican Art, and the Chicago Cultural Center.

Artist Statement

Growing up in Chicago to immigrant parents, I experienced firsthand the instability of living in the United States and the violence one can face. I dedicate my practice to advocating for the communities I am a part of, and my paintings act as a visual exploration of my interest in Colonial, Mexican, and Catholic histories, primarily alongside LGTBQIA+ narratives. My existence as a non-binary first generation Mexican American creates a state of conflict within my identity, and this tension is the most prevalent influence in my practice. As a queer person who is also a New American, my lived experience has been one of constantly combating instability, discrimination, and erasure.

The duality of having the rights of a citizen but the vulnerability of undocumented parents influences not only my art, but the way I maneuver in the U.S. I am especially interested in using the iconography of these identities to create new visuals focused on queer and immigrant representation. I am influenced by fashion, queer nightlife, drag performance, immigration activism, and colonial histories. Developing my own painting technique, I use glitter, a material often stigmatized, to create depictions of Queer and immigrant bodies. Using my own experiences and likeness as a template, I create figures lacking facial features to serve as a stan-in for all queer Latinx youth. I use a myriad of embellishments, fabrics, and traditional Mexican craft techniques to create figures that are proudly defiant, provocative, and glamorous. Through this process, the bodies I paint become immortalized to combat the erasure of these communities and transform that pain into healing and restorative energy.

My intention is to dedicate my life to the continual effort to present the experiences of the immigrant and queer community. I feel a responsibility to tell my familial story and create safe spaces for my audience. With every work and exhibition I wish to remind my viewer that our shared experiences matter and should be celebrated. My practice also serves as a tool to dismantle the hate and misinformation that has been weaponized to criminalize the queer and immigrant community. I defiantly showcase our resilience with the aim to champion my community as well invite those outside of it to find understanding and common ground. It is a privilege to continue the process of restorative healing through art, not only for myself, but for the communities I embody, both living and ancestral.

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