Liliana Navarro (born 1998) is a visual artist known for her impactful paintings that represent Chicana feminism and a diverse range of portraits that are not commonly seen in widespread media or showings.[1] She depicts her paintings of people of color in honor and pride through powerful yet feminine aspects of their beauty. She is known for creating art and challenging society's portrayal of women of color. Navarro creates art with the intention of empowering women of color and addressing the oppression that they face in society.

Biography

Liliana Navarro was born on September 17, 1998, in Oakland, California. She identifies herself as a Xicana, and works on paintings focusing on social activism for her culture.[2] She is professionally known as Lili la Artista.[3]

Art

One of Navarro’s famous artworks is Divine Femininity. Painted in 2017, the painting is a self-portrait that resembles la Virgen de Guadalupe, but she replaces the cultural figure in the middle.[2] Through this artwork, Navarro emphasizes that she is not just a Chicana artist but also an activist.[1] Navarro challenges traditional portrayals and recognizes the spiritual and cultural significance of women of color in art. Similar to Alma Lopez’s Our Lady, the painting serves as a cultural representation of how she, identifying herself as a woman, shares a lot of characteristics with la Virgen like most women do.[2] In the portrait, she has a strong gaze that looks directly at the viewer, in contrast to la Virgen’s praying stance. She attributes most of the same elements of the original painting, with a green cowl covering her upper body and shining sun rays appearing behind her back. On the top, two red roses stand on each corner, with two half-crescent moons in the middle facing away from each other. This painting was shown in the exhibition View from the Bench: Drawings in the Context of Chicano Art.[2] In this exhibition, Navarro demonstrates the painting as a symbol of womanhood, femininity, spirituality, motherhood, and social justice for herself as a Xicana.[2] She wanted to capture the image of divine femininity for her viewers in a way that is never really seen in other kinds of media or artwork, as she states that many women share similar characteristics of La Virgen in terms of womanhood, feminism, strength, and social justice.[2]

Another one of Navarro’s artworks is her self-portrait, titled 1998. This painting showcases two sides of Navarro’s face. On the left side, she is looking directly at the viewer with a strong glance, and in her mirrored reflection on the right side, her eyes are closed but still looking towards the viewer as well. On the bottom are the numbers 1998 in a personalized writing style, which is the year Navarro was born. This artwork was showcased in San Francisco’s Swim Gallery in 2018, titled Exotify Elsewhere Pt. II.[4] The purpose of this exhibition was to give light to artists who identified themselves as women of color and accurately represented themselves in a way that history had failed to do so.[4] The show places an emphasis on resistance and resilience, as these artists have gone out of their way to make sure their voices are heard and not silenced.[4] It gives recognition to the oppression people of color have faced throughout history and makes a statement about their freedom and capability to truly represent their struggles and liberation in their art. Navarro is one of the participants and artists featured in this exhibition.[4]

A third artwork by Navarro is Angelitos (2018). In this painting, two brown angels are shown at the center, hugging each other. This art piece was commemorated in the Five Oaks Museum’s exhibition, Untouchable Artifacts.[5] Usually, angels are drawn and showcased as being white.However, Navrro challenges this norm that is set by society and draws them in to bring representation to communities that have been excluded. While it challenges social norms, it also holds cultural importance through elements Navarro incorporates into her art piece, such as the stylistic nods to the Virgin of Guadalupe and the use of roses.[5] Navarro created this painting through inspiration from Emile Munier’s Putto’s Kiss, in which the two angels portrayed are embracing one another. Navarro states that she wanted the viewer to capture the themes of innocence and gentleness in these brown people, as indigenous individuals are never portrayed in this way in popular culture. Navarro also wanted to create this painting as a means of representing women of color in a predominantly white male space. She states that by painting these two brown angels in a serene but powerful manner, she is able to bring light to the community as they exude kindness and love for one another.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 "UA: Lili Navarro | Five Oaks Museum". Five Oaks Museum | Five Oaks Museum. 2021-06-22. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Reynoso, Rondall (2018-09-10). "Cruz Reynoso's View from the Bench: Drawings in the context of Chicano Art". Faith on View. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  3. ↑ "About the Artist". artistalili. Archived from the original on 2023-04-23.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Juxtapoz Magazine - Twelve Artists Fight Fetishization In "Exotify Elsewhere II" at SWIM Gallery". www.juxtapoz.com. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  5. 1 2 3 "UA: Lili Navarro | Five Oaks Museum". Five Oaks Museum | Five Oaks Museum. 2021-06-22. Retrieved 2023-11-26.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.