@ the Cheech
EXHIBITION ON VIEW: October 3, 2026 – February 14, 2027
Location: Second Floor Galleries
Spanning more than 50 years of the career of one of the most influential Chicana artists, Carmen Lomas Garza: Picturing the Familiar explores how Garza’s vibrant paintings of family celebrations, neighborhood traditions, healing practices, and everyday Mexican American life transformed ordinary moments into enduring expressions of cultural identity and community.
The first major retrospective devoted to Garza in more than two decades, Carmen Lomas Garza: Picturing the Familiar presents the artist’s work alongside paintings, prints, photographs, and archival materials by 17 artists whose friendships, collaborations, and shared commitment to the Chicano Movement helped shape her artistic journey. Together, these works illuminate the creative networks that defined the Chicano art movement while celebrating Garza’s lasting influence on generations of artists.
The exhibition also reunites four paintings originally featured in Chicano Visions: American Painters on the Verge (2001), creating a meaningful connection between Cheech Marin’s landmark exhibition and this new examination of Garza’s extraordinary career.
Carmen Lomas Garza: Picturing the Familiar is organized by ASU Art Museum Senior Curator Alana Hernandez, with ASU Art Museum Latinx Curatorial Fellow Natalie Solis.
Major support is provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art and the Teiger Foundation. Generous funding is provided by the Institute for Museum and Library Sciences and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Additional support is provided by Michele Huffman and the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust.
The exhibition is presented in collaboration with a Community of Practice composed of Fernando Hernández, Chef; Susan Bauer, M.Ed, NBCT; Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz, Curandera; and Dr. Sonia Vega-López, Professor in Nutrition and Assistant Dean of Inclusive Excellence in the College of Health Solutions at Arizona State University.
FEATURED ARTISTS
Carmen Lomas Garza • Santa Barraza • Philip Brookman • Carolina Flores • Rupert García • Gronk • Ester Hernandez • Ralph Maradiaga • César A. Martínez • Amalia Mesa-Bains • Malaquías Montoya • Roberto Munguia • Amado M. Peña Jr. • José Luis Rivera-Barrera • Patricia Rodríguez • Teddy Sandoval • José Francisco Treviño • George Truan
Carmen Lomas Garza, Heaven and Hell II, 1991. Alkyd and oil on canvas, 36 x 48 in. (91.4 x 121.9 cm). Collection of the artist. Courtesy Carmen Lomas Garza. © 1991, Carmen Lomas Garza
Carmen Lomas Garza, Tamalada, 1987. Gouache, 27 1/2 x 34 in. (69.9 x 86.4 cm). Collection of the artist. Courtesy Carmen Lomas Garza. © 1987, Carmen Lomas Garza
Carmen Lomas Garza, Camas para Sueños, 1989. Oil on linen, mounted on wood, Image: 32 x 24 in. (81.9 x 61 cm). Collection of the artist. Courtesy Carmen Lomas Garza. © 1987, Carmen Lomas Garza
Carmen Lomas Garza, Abuelitos Pizcando Nopalitos (Grandparents Cutting Cactus), 1980. Gouache on cotton paper, 11 x 14 in. (27.9 x 35.6 cm). Collection of Amalia Mesa-Bains and Richard L. Bains. Courtesy Carmen Lomas Garza. © 1980, Carmen Lomas Garza
