August 29 – September 21 2024
Opening Reception Thursday, August 29th 6-9 pm with performance at 8:00 pm
La Mecha is proud to introduce our Founding Member Cleo Arevalo and her solo exhibition GRASPABLE opening Thursday August 29th 6-9 pm with a special performance at 8:00 pm.
Cleo Arevalo is a conceptual artist employing multimedia techniques to create art objects, videos, and installations. Her work showcases an exploration of the pervasive systems of labeling that shape our societal landscape, effectively weaponizing information. Arevalo invites viewers to question the validity of the meanings we assign to the symbols around us and their influence on our individual and collective identities.
In GRASPABLE, Arevalo displays work that analyzes the information that makes up a person’s identity as perceived by consumer and governmental institutions. In this exhibition, information is seen as the currency of our time that ranks our place in the world. The works on view provoke a contemplation of how the value of the self is attributed by our contributions to society. And to question how the relationship between ownership and the perception of personal information influences someone’s identity.
She earned a BFA in Printmaking from the University of Texas at El Paso, where she honed her skills in traditional printmaking techniques. She later pursued an MFA at New Mexico State University, transitioning into multimedia art to expand her creative expression.
Her work has been exhibited in national and international venues, including the International Museum of Art in El Paso, the Fire House Gallery in Louisville, and the Museo de la Revolución en la Frontera in Ciudad Juárez, México. Cleo’s practice is deeply rooted in her experiences within the border region, where she continuously explores themes of cultural hybridity and personal narrative through a variety of media, including the fabrication of art objects, video, installation, and digital art.
Currently, Cleo is a faculty member at El Paso Community College, where she shares her passion for art with the next generation of creatives. Her contributions to the local art community also extend to her involvement in exhibitions and cultural dialogues that emphasize the rich, often underrepresented, narratives of the borderlands.
