Mario Ybarra Jr. - The Tio Collection

The eponymous exhibition Mario Ybarra Jr.: The Tío Collection, will feature displays of both fictional and non-fictional objects belonging to the artist's uncles, including photographs, artifacts, and other handmade objects. Inspired by artists like Fred Wilson and the Museum of Jurassic Technology, Los Angeles, Ybarra Jr. examines and deconstructs the traditional display of art and artifacts in institutions of authority (e.g., museums and libraries), with a particular focus on the inclusion of the Chicano experience.

Examining the cultivation of his own style, the artist utilizes personal, cultural, and temporal elements to organize The Tío Collection, revealing how familial, generational, geographical, and cultural influences filter down and are inherent to who we become. Moving away from common stereotypes of the Mexican-American experience by portraying a diverse, multi-generational, and heterogeneous population, Mario Ybarra Jr.: The Tío Collection is an homage—an attempt to document the cultural field and add to the historical record the presence and contributions of the Chicano community in Santa Barbara as well as the United States.

Mario Ybarra Jr.: The Tío Collection will be on view from August 5 to September 30, 2012 and the public is invited to attend the opening August 4 from 6:30pm to 8pm.

Wilmington-based artist Mario Ybarra Jr. received an MFA from University of California, Irvine, and a BFA from Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles. He is a visual and performance artist, educator, and activist known for combining street culture with fine art. Ybarra Jr. has exhibited internationally in major museums and galleries including: Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Tate Modern, London; and J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. In 2002, Ybarra Jr. and his wife, Karla Diaz, co-founded the artist-collective Slanguage, where Diaz oversees exhibitions and programming. He is represented by Honor Fraser, Los Angeles.

Catalog As a companion to the exhibition, a scholarly publication will document Mario Ybarra Jr.: The Tío Collection, providing in-depth information on the collection's artifacts. This 136-page, full-color catalog will include color images, an introductory essay by CAF Executive Director Miki Garcia, and a scholarly text by Slanguage's Karla Diaz.

Mario Ybarra Jr.
The Tio Collection