LOOKOUT Series 3: Cito Gonzales

LOOKOUT: An outside look at inside art.
Joshua Tree Art Gallery 61607 Twentynine Palms Highway, Joshua Tree, CA 92252
July Artist: Cito Gonzales
On view: July 4 – July 30  | Open Hours: Ongoing (Gallery is closed but visible FROM OUTSIDE.)

As we reflect and shift with the daily changes and effects of COVID-19, the Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council is committed to the health and safety of our community. During this time art has the power to connect, uplift and inspire everyone. While most residents are staying at home and reevaluating the new normal, the downtown Joshua Tree commercial strip remains active as our neighbors and the farmer’s market remain open.

To continue our mission to inspire and enliven the community through the arts we present LOOKOUT, an exhibition series in the front window of the Joshua Tree Art Gallery. This month Indigenous and Mexican artist Cito Gonzales presents Mitakuye-asin: All Our Relations, a display of beautiful and intricate dragons made from found bones, feathers, seeds, shells, antlers, figs and other natural materials. These dragons are the guardians of the earth and portray the interconnectedness of our world and our responsibility to care for it.

We aim to catch the eye of a passersby and shift their current outlook to one of inspiration and intrigue. Stay positive, stay safe and continue to make and appreciate art.

SERIES 3: JULY CITO GONZALES

ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Cito Gonzales is an assemblage artist of Apache, Yaqui and Mexican descent born in Northern California. He is a native to mother earth and has lived off the grid for over 26 years calling both the Sierras and the Hi Desert his home. Cito’s work is inspired by living close and co-existing with nature and through all our relations, we are all related. His series of dragons represent the guardians of the earth and the interconnectedness of the world. By learning and finding his own place in nature Cito has become a steward and caretaker for the land. His work is often created from found materials such as bones, feathers, seeds, shells, antlers and figs. He has a long history of sharing his creations with children, sparking their curiosity in what and how these dragons are made. He uses these questions to teach children about the animals, the ecosystem and the responsibility needed to encourage more of us to become guardians of earth, with earth and for earth.

Interested in exhibiting your work? Review our CALL FOR WORK to learn more.