(b. 1950)
Luis Tapia is a pioneering and highly acclaimed artist who has pushed and blurred the boundaries of a genre that often gets categorized as more folk than fine. From the very beginning of his artistic career, he has sought to recontextualize tradition within the contemporary experience. In the 1970s, at the height of the Chicano movement, Tapia was one the founders of La Cofradía de Artes y Artesanos Hispanicos- a pivotal grupo (group) of Nuevomexicana /o artists.
For
years, Tapia sold his work at Spanish Market but was pressured by market officials
to use "traditional" softer and natural colors. That attitude infuriated
the artist who believes that "there's a brightness to religion" and
has always resisted being stereotyped. During his time as a Spanish Market artist,
Tapia planted a number of other seeds and introduced imagery such as Noah's
Ark to the existing canon of biblical subjects. Tapia says that when he left
the market other doors began to open. Tapia's social commentary and keen cultural observation are at the core of his work. He tells the stories of real life through his sculpture and at the same time makes his saints human. In the case of Doña Sebastiana Relaxes after a Hard Day at the Office, Tapia had no idea what he was going to create when he began carving in one corner of the wood. Six months later the piece included in Arte y Amistad was completed.
Tapia, father of artist Sergio Tapia, is the great great great nephew of artist Celso Gallegos. Tapia's personal collections include Mexican Masks, WPA furniture and art.
