Ernesto Yerena “Resilience of Memory,” 2017 — Mixed Media on Panel

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Description

Ernesto Yerena Montejano “Resilience of Memory,” 2017

Resilience of Memory, a 2017 mixed-media work by Ernesto Yerena Montejano. A teal … Read more Ernesto Yerena Montejano “Resilience of Memory,” 2017

Resilience of Memory, a 2017 mixed-media work by Ernesto Yerena Montejano. A teal aloe plant with a tall flowering stalk anchors the composition beneath an orange-red sun, flanked by two black birds in flight. The layered background incorporates butterflies, floral patterns, religious imagery, geometric motifs, and lettering, with pink paint drips crossing the surface.

The combination of botanical imagery and cultural references connects the work to Yerena’s broader exploration of heritage, identity, and memory.

Signed lower right and inscribed with the title at upper right.

Artist: Ernesto Yerena Montejano
Title: Resilience of Memory
Date: 2017
Medium: Mixed media
Dimensions: 8 inches wide × 10 inches high × 1.5 inches deep

Condition

Textured, layered surface with scattered marks and small edge irregularities, as shown in the photographs.

About the artist

Ernesto Yerena Montejano is a Chicano artist and graphic designer born in El Centro, California. Raised between California’s Imperial Valley and Mexicali, Mexico, he draws on his cross-border upbringing and Indigenous identity to explore cultural heritage, immigration, labor, and community resistance. His practice includes screenprinting, murals, stenciling, and mixed-media collage.

Yerena earned a bachelor’s degree in graphic design from the Art Institute of California–Los Angeles. He began working with Shepard Fairey in 2006, first as an intern and later as a studio assistant and collaborator. In 2008, he founded Hecho Con Ganas, a publishing project producing socially engaged limited-edition prints. His collaborators have included Zack de la Rocha, Manu Chao, Ana Tijoux, Chuck D, and photographer Aaron Huey.

A founding member of the We Are Human campaign in 2009, Yerena also founded and curated the Alto Arizona Art campaign in 2010. He contributed to Honor the Treaties and created We the Resilient for Amplifier’s nationally distributed We the People campaign in 2017.

His work is held by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Cooper Hewitt, the National Museum of the American Indian’s archival collections, the McNay Art Museum, Mexic-Arte Museum, and the National Museum of Mexican Art. Selected exhibitions include his debut solo presentation, GANAS 2020, at White Walls in San Francisco; Estampas de la Raza; and the Smithsonian’s touring exhibition ¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now. His practice has also been featured in PBS SoCal’s Artbound. See less