Summer 2021 | Page 25

Luis Tapia is a pioneering Chicano artist who

for forty-five years has pushed the art of

polychrome wood sculpture to new levels of

craftsmanship and social and political

commentary. Tapia’s extraordinary figurative

works speak to the complexity of a

multilayered Latino/Hispano/Chicano

identity, history, and contemporary culture,

offering compelling insights and challenging

perspectives on life in the barrio, on the

border, and beyond.

Rooted in a folk art tradition established in

seventeenth-century New Mexico, Tapia’s work

at once honors its origins, reinterprets traditional

subject matter, and revitalizes age-old techniques.

Setting his subjects in innovative spatial and

conceptual environments, Tapia illuminates the

social, political, and religious issues of yesterday

and today, and the joy and humor of daily life. His

meticulously carved and painted figures flaunt

brilliant color and intricate detail, utilizing symbols

from history and popular culture with profound,

playful, or provocative visual effect.

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Photo by Jack Parsons.