Christo Oropeza Whatever the Work May Be

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Opening Reception: Friday, October 25th, 2019 7 - 9 pm

 Christo Oropeza

Whatever the Work May Be

Opening Reception Friday, October 25th, 2019 7 - 9 pm

Exhibition Dates: October 25th - November 9th 2019

Oropeza’s unfussy muted gouache paintings reflect on the inseparable history of the white cube and modern art. They are portraits of objects in repose which examine the meticulous hidden culture of art installation. A forklift waits with open arms beside a palette, a bucket of white paint keeps company with a rolling cart within the modernist architecture of the museum gallery, the stanchions which create a divide between the œuvre and the outside world stand at the ready in a supply closet, a stepping ladder and a level make their sharp shadows against the yawning negative space of a rectangular composition. In these works one can almost hear the buzzing fluorescent lights inside the staff-only inner sanctum of the museum.

These utilitarian objects are the familiar tools of someone who has worked as an Operations Technician at the SFMOMA for the past 14 years. Hanging, transportation, packing and unpacking are the physical demands stipulated by the acquisition of a piece of art. When Oropeza’s colleagues became aware of his self-referential painting practice he was invited to create a mural in the Koret Education Center of the SFMOMA. The permanent three part mural is an ode to the behind-the-scenes staff of the museum. The Spanish play-on-words in Oropeza’s titles wrap in his identity as a Chicano in the United States.

We are excited to present the recent works of this San Francisco native, SFSU graduate, muralist, creator of the San Pancho art collective and cofounder of Incline Gallery. Since 2010 Incline Gallery’s exhibition programming has held space for San Francisco artists. Oropeza was recently awarded recognition in the YBCA 100.