Though based on the east coast, Esteban Cabeza de Baca roots his artworks in his parents’ Mexican heritage and his childhood upbringing near the California / Mexico border. In this painting in his latest solo show at Garth Greenan Gallery, the artist employs New Mexico soil along with dyes made of cochineal from insects and indigo along with acrylic and spray paint, merging contemporary and ancient materials. A Maize god featured on Mayan artifacts inspired the green, human-plant hybrid figure pictured here on a segment of a wall which has broken away and is hovering in space at the center of this painting. Accepting human figures onto its open plant-palm, the deity offers a chance to exist in communion with nature, a recurring theme of Cabeza de Baca’s work. (On view in Chelsea through Feb 21st).
