2022 Cultivating Community through Art: Sam Coronado's Serie Project and its Continuing Legacy

Sam Coronadois an internationally recognized artist, whose work is held in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C., the Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas, and many others. He is widely considered an importantfigure in the Chicano art movement;he is also a co-founder of the Mexic-ArteMuseum in Austin, Texas. In addition, Coronado taught at ACC for decades and was highly regarded for his extraordinary abilities in mentorship and advocacy for the arts.This sectionwill feature a selection of paintings and screen prints by Coronado. Focusing on themes of social justice and Latino/a life, these works will contextualize his personal artistic practice.

The Serie Projectwas hosted by Coronado Studio in East Austin. Modeled on Self Help Graphics & Art in Los Angeles, invited artists would spend a week or more alongside the studio’s master printer to develop and execute their screen print designs. Print runs would be up to 50 prints, which would be split between the artist and the studio for sale. To prompt equitable art buying, the prints were reasonably priced regardless of the artist’s status. Although many Serie artists self-identify as Latino/a or Chicano/a artists, the project included additional artists of diverse backgrounds. This largest section of the exhibition will include dozens of Serie Project works that represent the program’s chronological development and the wide-ranging styles and techniques that can be employed in screen printing. Likewise, the content contained in these works display a wide spectrum, spanning from the political and perceptions of identity to satire and formalism. A core element that connects these works is the value that printmaking can bring to artistic production.

Coronado Studio master printers Pepe Coronado, Brian Johnson, and Johnathan Rebolloso each worked with Sam Coronado during the Serie Project years. Pepe Coronado (no relation) began with project in 1993 and Johnathan Rebolloso was the last master printer for the Serie Project. This section of the exhibition will feature contemporary works by these printmakers that were either produced in Coronado Studio since 2013 or were inspired by,or a product of,their time at the studio. Each of these artists have in turn created opportunities for other artists in the spirit of the Serie Project. Brian Johnson is a current Adjunct Faculty member in the Art Department at ACC, and Johnathan Rebolloso was a student at ACC when met Sam Coronado and began working at the studioin 2009.