Marcelina Gonzales creates oil-tinted resin works that reconstruct the artist’s memories of growing up in an American border town. Marcelina was born in Brownsville, a thriving town at the southernmost tip of Texas known for its unique fusion of Mexican and American cultures.
Her work explores the hard-won struggle for empowerment and identity growing up Hispanic and female in a marginalized and often misunderstood area of the country.
“[Brownsville] is often regarded with contempt by outlets that promote its poverty, lack of education, and danger,” writes Marcelina in her artist statement. “I am working to reconcile the shame triggered by the circumstances and external barriers set by my perceived identity.” Despite being heavily influenced by race, class, and gender, Marcelina’s work is filled with universally recognizable childhood milestones. In “First Act of Rebellion,” a young girl observes a teenage right of passage by cutting her own bangs in the bathroom mirror. Similarly, works that depict the artist whiling away summer vacation hours watching TV feel comforting and familiar.
In each composition, Marcelina carefully constructs a mini coming-of-age narrative that lays bare the awkward yet magical nature of adolescence. The high-gloss resin creates a stylized surface that mirrors both the murkiness and rosy nostalgia of a childhood memory. Marcelina sees these adolescent images as both universal and personal, allowing the work to bridge the gap between individual identity and the broader need to belong.
