Solo show
Amalia Mesa-Bains: Venus Envy, Chapter I and Madrinas y Hermanas (Godmothers and Sisters)
18 Jun 2022 — 6 Nov 2022 at San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
· San Francisco
This 2022 exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) presented two significant installation works by celebrated Chicana artist Amalia Mesa-Bains: Venus Envy, Chapter I and Madrinas y Hermanas (Godmothers and Sisters).
Venus Envy, Chapter I is a richly layered altar installation that draws on the traditions of the ofrenda and the vanity table to examine Chicana femininity, desire, and the politics of beauty. Through an accumulation of personal and cultural objects, Mesa-Bains constructs a space that is at once intimate and politically charged.
Madrinas y Hermanas (Godmothers and Sisters) pays tribute to the women — artists, activists, and community figures — who have shaped and sustained Chicana culture. The work honors networks of solidarity and mentorship that often go unrecognized in mainstream art history.
Together, the two installations offer a powerful meditation on gender, heritage, and the ongoing struggle for representation within both the art world and broader society.
Venus Envy, Chapter I is a richly layered altar installation that draws on the traditions of the ofrenda and the vanity table to examine Chicana femininity, desire, and the politics of beauty. Through an accumulation of personal and cultural objects, Mesa-Bains constructs a space that is at once intimate and politically charged.
Madrinas y Hermanas (Godmothers and Sisters) pays tribute to the women — artists, activists, and community figures — who have shaped and sustained Chicana culture. The work honors networks of solidarity and mentorship that often go unrecognized in mainstream art history.
Together, the two installations offer a powerful meditation on gender, heritage, and the ongoing struggle for representation within both the art world and broader society.
About the artist
Amalia Mesa-Bains
1943
Amalia Mesa-Bains, is a Chicana curator, author, visual artist, and educator. She is best known for her large-scale installations that reference home altars and ofrendas. Her work engages in a conceptual exploration of Mexican American women's spiritual practices that addresses colonial and…
About the artist →About the venue
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
· San Francisco
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum and nonprofit organization located in San Francisco, California. SFMOMA was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th-century art, and has built an internationally recognized collection with over…
