Riverside, CA November 19, 2024 –
This past Tuesday, nearly 200 people gathered at The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum to witness a historic moment: the unveiling of a bronze statue of Cheech Marin, created by Southern California artist Ignacio Gómez. With its outstretched arms, the statue welcomes visitors to The Cheech, embodying Marin’s passion for art and his lifelong advocacy for Chicano culture.
The ceremony was more than an unveiling—it was a celebration of legacy, community, and shared vision. Attendees also honored the late Ofelia Valdez-Yeager, whose tireless commitment brought this project to life. A community organizer and champion of Chicano culture, Valdez-Yeager’s vision inspired the campaign to fund the statue and sustain the programming at The Cheech.
Cheech Marin himself expressed deep gratitude during the event. Reflecting on the journey that brought his collection and this statue to Riverside, he said, “This statue is not just a reflection of my work, but of the incredible power of Chicano art to tell stories, challenge narratives, and bring us together. Riverside has become a home for this art, and I am so humbled to be part of this journey.”
Drew Oberjuerge, Executive Director of the Riverside Art Museum, shared her appreciation for the collaborative effort behind the statue. She highlighted artist Ignacio Gómez’s dedication, saying, “Through realizing Ofelia’s vision for this sculpture, I had the opportunity to get to know artist Ignacio Gómez better. I have a greater appreciation for his technique, his versatility, his long-standing body of work, and his deep respect for Cheech Marin and what he has done for Chicano art.”
Maria Esther Fernández, Artistic Director of The Cheech, spoke of the significance of the new addition. “The statue reflects the open arms and welcoming spirit that have come to define Cheech’s collection and his dedication to sharing Chicana/o/x art widely. It is that spirit that galvanized community members in support of creating this special center that represents the hope and vision for Chicana/o/x art in the American landscape,” she said.
For Ignacio Gómez, creating the statue was a deeply personal honor. “Cheech’s passion for art and culture radiates through his every endeavor. Capturing his spirit in bronze was an honor, and I hope this piece will inspire future generations to embrace and celebrate their roots,” he reflected.
The unveiling also marked the culmination of the “Meet Me at The Cheech” campaign, which raised vital funds for programming and exhibitions at the center. The campaign’s success was made possible by generous supporters, including JPMorganChase, Dr. Georgia Hill, Dwight Tate and Kathy Wright, UNIDOS for the La Causa, Inc., Latino Network, and Spanish Town Heritage Foundation.
As the crowd dispersed, many lingered to admire the statue, a new symbol of cultural pride standing at the gateway to The Cheech. For those who came to celebrate, it was clear that the sculpture was more than just a tribute to Marin—it was a testament to the power of art, the strength of community, and the enduring legacy of Chicano culture in Riverside and beyond.
Riverside, Calif – September 23, 2024 – Riverside Art Museum (RAM) announces its latest round of community-driven acquisitions accepted into The Cheech Center Collection, which showcase a national breadth of talent and a deep commitment to preserving and celebrating Chicana/o/x art. Works by Israel Alejandro García García of Kansas City, Missouri; Delilah Montoya of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Danie Cansino of Los Angeles, California; and Jimmy Peña of Corpus Christi, Texas add continuing perspectives on the ever-evolving narrative of Latinx art in America.
Israel Alejandro García García’s Mojado No. 1 mixed-media installation plays on the complexities of border politics and ‘documentation.’ García García’s work explores the immigrant experience, drawing from his practice of collecting images, objects and stories from underrepresented diasporic communities. His art bridges the personal and political, spotlighting the inevitable painful ties to the world’s borderlands of today.
Delilah Montoya’s Casta #3 from her Contemporary Casta Portraiture: Nuestra Calidad series reinterprets Spanish colonial casta paintings, critiquing their racial hierarchies. Montoya’s minimalist, light-filled photograph emphasizes the natural connections of a modern mixed-race family, inviting reflection on identity, race, and heritage. Her work offers a powerful reclaiming of cultural narratives, blending realism with symbolism to challenge historical constraints.
Danie Cansino’s Narciso reimagines Caravaggio’s Narcissus with a Chicano twist. The large painting shows a young man gazing at his reflection, adorned with tattoos. Cansino, an artist rooted in tattoo culture, uses Baroque techniques to elevate BIPOC bodies in grand, allegorical compositions, offering new subjects and narratives that challenge art historical norms and center Brown, tattooed figures.
Jimmy Peña’s large-scale charcoal drawings on wood—Communion, The Committee, and Fragmented State of Being—are known for their hyper-realistic style tinged with surrealism. Peña’s intricate works seem to bring figures to life from the wood’s grain, addressing contemporary social and political issues with detailed precision.
Since its opening in June 2022, through the generosity of donors, including a $100,000 matching grant from the Wingate Foundation, The Cheech has added nearly 100 works by about 40 artists to the Riverside Art Museum’s permanent collections. Spanning from 1920 to 2024, these works enhance the museum’s joint holdings and reflect RAM’s commitment to diversifying acquisitions equitably. The additions encompass a range of mediums, including sculpture, works on paper, paintings, and photographs while offering new regional perspectives and a focus on Chicana artists.
Notable women artists now represented include Barbara Carrasco, Yreina D. Cervántez, Ester Hernández, Judithe Hernández, Yolanda López, Delilah Montoya, and Patricia Rodriguez. Newly added works also feature artists Danie Cansino, Eduardo Carrillo, Rosy Cortez, Israel Alejandro García García, Rupert García, Stephanie García, Luis C. Garza, Ed Gómez, Jaime Guerrero, Gerardo Monterrubio, Jimmy Peña, Jesse E. Rodriguez, F. John Sierra, Denise Silva, Paul Valadez, and Perry Vásquez.
ABOUT RIVERSIDE ART MUSEUM + THE CHEECH: Since 1967, the Riverside Art Museum (3425 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside, CA 92501) has been housed in a 1929 building designed by Hearst Castle and AIA Gold Medal-winning architect Julia Morgan, registered on the National Register of Historic Places, and designated a Historic Landmark by the City of Riverside. Riverside Art Museum integrates art into the lives of people in a way that engages, inspires, and builds community by providing regionally focused exhibitions, programming, events, and arts education that instill a lifelong love of the arts.
Open since June 17, 2022, The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture aka “The Cheech” (3581 Mission Inn Ave., Riverside, CA 92501) resides in a renovated mid-century building that originally opened as the City of Riverside, California’s public library in 1964. Dedicated to showcasing Chicana/o/x art, honoring and exploring its continued social, cultural, and political impact, it’s the first cultural center of its kind. The Cheech is home to the unparalleled Cheech Marin Collection of Chicano art. It is a space for continued exhibition, scholarship, and dialogue of Chicano art’s deep roots in the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s to its contemporary and evolving response to current social conditions and global artistic movements.
ABOUT THE WINGATE FOUNDATION: The Wingate Foundation, established in 1998 by John H. Wingate, Jr., is a private foundation based in Riverside, California, dedicated to supporting arts and community initiatives in the Inland Empire. After John’s passing in 2012, his son Todd Wingate took over operations. The foundation’s recent grant recipients include The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, UC Riverside, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Inland Empire, and Feeding America Riverside | San Bernardino Counties. The foundation’s $100,000 matching grant for artwork acquisitions at The Cheech aims to expand and diversify the collection.
