For this episode, we asked artist, mother, and activist Tanya Aguiñiga which artist she would most wish to speak with and she chose visual artist and curator Julio César Morales.

The pair discuss the versatility of the border experience, unlikely influences, and functional art practices.

This episode is in partnership with The Armory Show. Both artists appearing in the episode are part of the curated sections of the fair’s 2022 edition. Tanya Aguiñiga’s work is presented by Volume Gallery in Focus, curated by Carla Acevedo-Yates, while Julio César Morales’s piece La Linea is presented by Gallery Wendi Norris in Platform, curated by Tobias Ostrander.

Tanya Aguiñiga is an artist, designer, and craftsperson, who works with traditional craft materials like natural fibers and collaborates with other artists and activists to create sculptures, installations, performances, and community-based art projects. In her installations, furniture, and wearable designs, Aguiñiga often works with cotton, wool, and other textiles, drawing upon Mesoamerican weaving and traditional forms. Her solo exhibitions include the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Museum of Arts and Design. Additional exhibitions have been held at the Annenberg Space for Photography, and the Craft and Folk Art Museum—among others.

Julio César Morales investigates issues of migration, underground economies, and labor on the personal and global scales. Morales’s practice explores diverse mediums specific to each project or body of work. He has painted watercolor illustrations that diagram human trafficking methods, employed the DJ turntable, produced video and time-based pieces, and reenacted a famous meal—all to elucidate social interactions and political perspectives. Morales’s work has been shown at SFMOMA, Museo Rufino Tamayo, LACMA, Hammer Museum, Muca Roma, Prospect 3 Biennale, Lyon Biennale, and Istanbul Biennale among others.

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