Antonio Lechuga

Antonio’s practice focuses on the intersection of art, design, architecture and social change. He uses a varied visual language of materials and processes to discuss and investigate his culture and existence; both his existence and experiences as a Tejano living in the 21st century and it’s constant battle with the erasure of that history. Antonio uses the current condition of today’s political climate to inform and guide his work. Through investigations, research and new technologies, Antonio begins to piece together new narratives of a future for the Mexican-American of the Texas region while emphasizing and highlighting it’s rich, deep and turbulent past. ...

Various Small Fires (Los Angeles /Dallas /Seoul) began as a series of conversations with artists and curators in Esther Kim Varet’s Venice Beach kitchen while working on her doctoral dissertation. VSF debuted in Hollywood as an official gallery in 2015 with a roster of artists and its current Johnston MarkLee Architects-designed building. The Hollywood gallery contains three exhibition spaces, a unique sound corridor, and an outdoor gallery. VSF’s exhibition program explores several curatorial lines: climate, equality, and an international conversation. The gallery is known for offering artists debut shows, creating intergenerational conversations among the artists on its roster, and solidifying artists’ legacies within art history. In 2019, VSF opened a second location in the Hannam neighbourhood of Seoul, South Korea, followed recently this Spring by VSFs third outpost in Dallas, Texas. While Varet has very personal connections to both locations, they are also superlative art communities. These expansions emphasise the gallery’s commitment to innovation and global dialogue in the twenty-first century. In 2021, VSF became a member of the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA). ...