Orienting Browness

Guest Curator: Alonzo Pantoja-Patino 

Orientation is defined as the following: a usually general or lasting direction of thought, inclination, or interest; awareness of the existing situation with reference to time, place, and identity of persons. Brownness is defined as the quality or state of being brown. With these definitions in mind the work of the artists exhibiting takes on a variety of approaches to orienting brownness.

Orienting as a conceptual concern to explore the space between languages (formal, spoken, written, other), the space between bodies, the space between identities, the space from here to there. Orienting as a metaphor for the way in which we navigate, appear, disappear in spaces - both physically and imaginary. For the way that bodies migrate from place to place. These forming thoughts are just a few that are being considered throughout the work of the artists on either a conceptual or formal level. For some, it is through abstraction as a way to explore the fluidity, identity and one’s own sense of brownness. Others explore their brownness through image-making, performance-relations, and sculpture. And it is through these modes of making that the work embodies a unique point of view.

Ultimately, the work is a culmination of different ways to orient brownness. Things that we see and the things that we imply to see. Together the artists take on an array of approaches to making work, but at the center of making is the notion of orienting brownness. The work draws from the past, present and future. Towards a potential of interpretations that seek to engage with viewers.  

About Semillas Galeria

Semillas (Seeds) is a Latina artist-run nonconventional gallery in an apartment. It offers screenings, art exhibitions, and related public programming for Latine artists working in Minnesota, the greater United States, and Latin America. 

Our mission is to support the creative and professional development of BIPOC artists of Latin American descent across the state by showing their work in conversation with nationally and internally based Latine artists. While a majority of Latine artists shown in Minnesota are predominantly Mexican, Semillas brings together a greater representation of the Latine cultures, languages, LGBTQIA+, and perspectives found across the state and puts them into context with the greater contemporary Latine art community.

Founder and runner Alondra M Garza.