Maryrose Cobarrubias Mendoza

Maryrose Cobarrubias Mendoza is an American artist who employs cultural critique to explore cultural assimilation and scale manipulation towards everyday objects. She is an associate professor and drawing coordinator at Pasadena City College, as well as a 2019 Guggenheim Fellow.

Maryrose Cobarrubias Mendoza
Born
Manila, Philippines
Alma materOtis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design
California State University, Los Angeles
Claremont Graduate University
Occupation(s)Visual artist and professor
EmployerPasadena City College
Known forartwork exploring cultural assimilation
AwardsGuggenheim Fellowship
Websitehttps://www.maryrosecmendoza.com

Biography

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Maryrose Cobarrubias Mendoza was born in Manila, Philippines, and in 1970, emigrated to Los Angeles, California,[1][2] recalling that her parents "were more interested in securing the American dream".[3] After attending the Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design as a foundation year student, she obtained her BA from the California State University, Los Angeles.[4] In 1991, she obtained her MFA at Claremont Graduate University.[5] In 2001, she became an associate professor and drawing coordinator at Pasadena City College, where she has also been part of several group exhibitions.[4]

When her work Donut Spinal Cord was exhibited at the UC Irvine Art Gallery in 1996, Cathy Curtis of the Los Angeles Times said that her work "seem[s] open to interpretations that wander far afield".[6] In her review of the 1996 Kayumanggi Presence exhibition at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Joan Rose of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser cited Mendoza as one of the few Filipino-American artists whose work at the exhibition she was "particularly impressed by".[7] Robert Enright called her sculpture at the 1996 Memories of Overdevelopment traveling exhibition at Plug In Institute in Winnipeg "powerful", saying that it "is personal and political at the same time."[8] Her work Untitled #4 was shown at the Armory Center for the Arts's 2013 Monster Drawing Rally.[9]

In his review of her solo exhibition Truth at the YYZ Artists Outlet gallery in Toronto, Gary Michael Dault of The Globe and Mail said: "The materials of Mendoza's work are as ersatz as the age we live in. The questions she asks are as noble as faith."[10] In 2018, her solo exhibition Red, White and Brown (stylized in all-lowercase) was the re-opening show of the HudsonJones Gallery in Cincinnati.[11] She has also held several solo shows in the Greater Los Angeles area, as well as in Seattle and abroad in Seoul.[4] In 2019, she unveiled a plaque in honor of the Japanese-American community in Monrovia, California,[12][13] and she was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.[2]

Her artwork explores cultural assimilation.[2] In a review of the 2022 Invisible, Hypervisible exhibition at Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, Colorado, Renée Marino of DARIA Art Magazine said of her work If These Walls Could Talk: "upon close inspection, we discover that the images are actually a reclamation of racist sentiment from nineteenth century political cartoons".[14] Another theme explored in her work is scale manipulation towards everyday objects; Mendoza recalls that this was inspired by Claes Oldenberg and the Fluxus community.[3] She also said that her use of American objects was inspired by her American assimilationist upbringing.[3]

Selected exhibitions

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Solo exhibitions

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  • Truth (1999), YYZ Artists Outlet, Toronto[10]
  • Maryrose Cobarrubias Mendoza (2003), HAUS Gallery, Pasadena, California[4]
  • Yield (2006), Solway Jones Gallery, Los Angeles[4]
  • Omitted (2010), S1F Gallery, Los Angeles[4]
  • This must be the place (2015), Commonwealth and Council, Los Angeles[4]
  • Red, White and Brown (2018), Hudson Jones Gallery, Cincinnati[11]
  • Maryrose Cobarrubias Mendoza (2019), COOP, Seoul[4]
  • Navigating Technics (2020), OCMAExpand, Orange County Museum of Art[4]
  • POP'd (2021), From Typhoon, Seattle[4]

Group exhibitions

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References

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  1. ^ "artist bio". www.maryrosecmendoza.com. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Maryrose Cobarrubias Mendoza". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved October 22, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Mendoza, Maryrose Cobarrubias (November 11, 2022). "Maryrose Cobarrubias Mendoza on Filipino-American Art — Interview". Picture This Post (Interview). Interviewed by Ben West. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "CV". www.maryrosecmendoza.com. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  5. ^ "web alumnotes" (PDF). The Flame. Vol. 14, no. 3. 2013.
  6. ^ Curtis, Cathy (March 26, 1996). "When East Collides With West". The Los Angeles Times. p. F6 R. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Rose, Joan (October 20, 1996). "Exhibition shows there's an art to reading a book". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. p. D6. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b Enright, Robert (August 13, 1997). "THE SIMPSONS MEET SANTARROMANA". The Globe and Mail. ProQuest 384885046 – via ProQuest.
  9. ^ Nakano, Craig (June 1, 2014). "It's ready in a flash". The Los Angeles Times. p. E2. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b Dault, Gary Michael (August 7, 1999). "Hansen's Paintings are nearly Sculpture Maryrose Cobarrubias Mendoza and Marlon Fuentes at YYZ". The Globe and Mail. ProQuest 384527407 – via ProQuest.
  11. ^ a b Rosen, Steven (April 13, 2018). "HudsonJones Gallery Reopens, Bringing More Arts Activity to Resurgent Camp Washington". Cincinnati CityBeat. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  12. ^ "Neighborhood Treasures: Pioneers of Monrovia". www.maryrosecmendoza.com. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  13. ^ Ling, Susie (June 5, 2019). "Monrovia Honoring Japanese American Legacy". Rafu Shimpo. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  14. ^ Marino, Renée (July 1, 2022). "inVISIBLE | hyperVISIBLE". DARIA Art Magazine. Retrieved October 24, 2024.