Multiple Exposures
September 16, 2023–January 7, 2024
the space in between
September 23, 2023–July 28, 2024
Christina Fernandez: Multiple Exposures
September 16, 2023—January 7, 2024
Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art hosts a landmark exhibition that surveys the work of Christina Fernandez, the crucially important Los Angeles-based artist who has spent 30 years in a rich exploration of migration, labor, gender, and her Mexican American identity through photography. Organized by UCR ARTS and curated by Joanna Szupinksa, senior curator at the California Museum of Photography, the exhibition brings together the artist’s most important bodies of works for the first time, allowing audiences to discover the threads that connect them, both formal and conceptual.
The title, Multiple Exposures, refers not only to a photographic technique but also to the artist’s revealing of that which is often hidden away, including fraught racial histories and the mistreatment of vulnerable communities. Raised in a family of Chicano activists, which Fernandez has credited with training her eye to see injustice, the artwork in the exhibition shines light on issues like labor exploitation, migration, and the effects of the boom and bust of real estate markets. Instead of employing a photojournalistic style, Fernandez’s conceptual investigations question photography’s ability to fully convey complex stories. Her layered images complicate our view, obscuring even as they expose. Through work that spans decades, Fernandez compels us to reconsider history, the border, and the real lives that cross and inhabit them.
Organized by UCR ARTS and curated by Joanna Szupinska, senior curator at the California Museum of Photography. SMoCA presentation organized by Keshia Turley, assistant curator. Chon Noriega, Distinguished Professor of Film, Television, and Digital Media at University of California, Los Angeles was curatorial advisor. Major support provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional publication support provided by AltaMed Health Services and Furthermore; a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund.
Related programming
On Saturday, December 2, at 1pm, artists Christina Fernandez, Ammi Robles Lizarraga, and Amanda Mollindo will discuss the role of Chicanx and Latinx photography in contemporary art, its potentiality as a vehicle for storytelling and a means of visualizing the complexities of identity, as well as its continued importance in the documentation and dialogue of social and cultural issues. The conversation will be preceded by a special performance in the gallery space organized by artist Yvonne Montoya, responding to themes centered in the exhibition.
Roelof Knol: the space in between
September 23, 2023–July 28, 2024
In this new immersive installation, emerging Dutch artist Roelof Knol creates a playful, interactive, audiovisual experience that invites viewers to explore their relationship with digital and physical spaces. the space in between responds to movement in real time, creating a dynamic network of shared pathways generated by people’s actions. The digital traces left behind allow you to form bonds with others or choose to disconnect and walk your own path. It is a place where you can seek connection or find the absence of it.
Artist Roelof Knol is interested in exploring the environments we inhabit, how we navigate within them using interactive technologies, and how technology both unites and isolates us. He constructs spaces where personal and collective moments can happen simultaneously, thoughtfully creating an encounter where participants can feel connected in a unique shared experience.
The soundscape for this artwork was created in collaboration with Don Diablo. This exhibition is part of the series PROJECT SPACE—an initiative that supports emerging and established artists in expanding their practice. Organized by Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA) and curated by Julie Ganas, curator of engagement and digital initiatives. Exhibition support provided by Title Partners Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation.
Related programming
A special performance by movement artist Nicole L Olson inside the space in between will premiere at SMoCA’s Fall Opening on Friday, September 22.
Roelof Knol will have an additional artwork on view in _____ space, a newly reimagined, flexible community space in SMoCA.
Support for Roelof Knol: the space in between provided by Title Partners Walter and Karla Goldschmidt Foundation.
Support for Christina Fernandez: Multiple Exposures is provided by the following sponsors:
