Founding Sisters
Mindy Solomon is proud to present Moises Salazar Tlatenchi in their second solo exhibition with the gallery. Founding Sisters reimagines the foundational figures of our country through a contemporary queer lens. Inspired by actual people, we see a figure referencing Colonial Heroine Betsy Ross, sewing the colors of the Pride flag. In other images, we see non-binary individuals donning Colonial garb and powdered wigs of the time period while appearing shirtless with platform, knee high boots. The choice of Sister as opposed to Father in the title is a nod to the ‘sisterhood’ found within the queer community, which Salazar has often made reference to. As a first-generation American, it is important to Salazar to embrace a more inclusive interpretation of American History.
“As a non-binary, first-generation Mexican American artist, I am heavily influenced by my lived experiences, cultural upbringing, and the Chicago queer community. Growing up in a traditionally Catholic household, I repressed parts of my identity for the sake of appeasing my family and assuring my survival. As an adult I have found sisterhood within the queer community. My work is now a place where I can be boldly colorful and loud. My interest lies in fashion, archiving queer nightlife and drag performance, learning traditional Mexican handicrafts, practicing immigration activism, and researching colonial histories. My paintings act as a visual exploration of my concerns as I highlight immigrant and LGTBQIA+ narratives. Through the medium of glitter, a material often stigmatized, I create depictions of queer and immigrant bodies; using my own as a template, I create faceless figures serving as stand-ins for any queer Latinx youth. Using a myriad of embellishments, fabrics, and yarn, the bodies I paint are proudly defiant and become immortalized to combat the erasure of these communities and transform that pain into healing and restorative energy.”
Founding Sisters is a re-contextualization of culture and history through the perspective of a non-binary, first-generation, Mexican-American artist. Throughout their practice, Salazar-Tlatenchi has continued to honor traditional Mexican handicrafts through means of material and method, restyling these techniques into more robust portrayals of their identity. Salazar aims to reflect the realities of both queer and immigrant peoples through stand-in figures for queer Latinx individuals. We are excited to provide a platform for their artistic message.
About Moises Salazar Tlatenchi
Moises Salazar is a non-binary artist based in Chicago, Illinois. Salazar holds a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Salazar’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. Represented by Mindy Solomon Gallery Salazar had their inaugural solo exhibition in August 2021.
Salazar has been focused on conceptual and installation-based work. Salazar’s presentation Let’s get Physical facilitated by Filo Sofi Arts was included in HEARSAY:HERESY Spring Break Art Show to much critical acclaim. In Gracias a la Vida Salazar created a chapel to queer ancestry at Red Arrow Gallery. Most recently Salazar’s project Santuario, a large-scale altar, was presented at Skin in the Game, Chicago edition, curated by Zoe Lukov. A Finalist of The QUEERART PRIZE, Salazar’s work has been featured in publications such as The Hispanic Executive, artnet, HYPERALLERGIC, and THE LATINX PROJECT. Salazar has participated in the The Hyde Park Art Center Residency and is a recipient of LuminArts Foundation Arts Fellowship, 3Arts Make a Wave Grant and is a Fire Island Artist Residency recipient.
