Retra Tablos: Reclaiming Culture and Ancient Textile Art

The Coral Gables Museum and Oolite Arts are pleased to present this exhibition by Aurora Molina and Alina Rodriguez, recipients of the Oolite Arts Creator Awards 2018.

The phrase Retra Tablos is a play of words between “retrato” (portrait) and “retablo” (altarpiece). The show gathers a group of portraits by sixteen artists, ages 6 to 12. Every image narrates an immigrant child’s story embedded in their Mayan ancestry, legend, folklore, and his/her assimilation as recent migrant, or as a child of immigrant parents.

By combining Mayan deities, symbols, Catholic iconography, and American pop culture, the works relate to the aesthetics of the Catholic “retablos” tradition. A retablo is a framed votive painting that forms part of the Catholic altar. Its iconography was often adopted by the peoples colonized by Spaniards and turned into bright, vibrant folk art of their own.

Also on view in the gallery are backstrap woven and embroidered replicas of the young artists’ drawings created by artisans from the collective of weavers Trama Textiles, in Guatemala. These works are meant to bring further the children’s voices.