Mexican Consulate Gallery

CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

OPENING RECEPTION

Monday, May 5th | 5 to 7 pm

Free and Open to the Public

@ The Mexican Consulate

Curated by Adriana Arriaga & Rafael Perea de la Cabada

OPAC is proud to present two powerful exhibitions that celebrate the strength, creativity, and cultural contributions of the Mexican and Mexican American community.

PROTEST AS PROTECTION / THE ART OF RESISTANCE
This group exhibition features artists Helen Yanez, Vero Sanchez, Juana Martinez, Elisa Torres, Gabriela Leon, and adriana la artista. Their works speak to the resilience and courage of immigrant communities during challenging times. With bold imagery and messages of solidarity, the show invites visitors to view art as a form of protest, healing, and transformation.

THE MEXICAN CONSULATE COLLECTION
This curated collection highlights the artistic richness of our region and includes works by Cesar Aldana, Adriana Arriaga, Bob DeBris, Porfirio Gutiérrez, Horacio Martinez, Benita Martinez Sosa, John Nava, Rafael Perea de la Cabada, Christian Ramirez, Gabriela Santos Ramos, Maricruz Sibaja, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Olguin Tapia Heredia, Elisa Torres, Rima Villarreal, and Helen Yanez.

Thanks to the generosity of these artists—ranging from internationally recognized figures to emerging voices—the collection reflects a deep and ongoing connection between Mexico and its diaspora. Each piece is a visual testament to identity, memory, and shared heritage.

Together, these exhibitions transform the Consulate into a space of cultural pride, reflection, and dialogue. We invite the public to experience this powerful intersection of art and community.

About The Mexican Consulate Gallery

Shop Art

In 2021, OPAC and the Mexican Consulate in Oxnard began a new partnership to bring more arts and culture to our community. Lobbies, waiting rooms, hallways and the Sala Aurora have become unique exhibition spaces to showcase artwork that speaks to Mexican and Mexican-American beauty, culture, traditions, and issues. The Consulate welcomes 400 individuals every day, including - we hope - you! Join us for an opening reception or gallery talk or come by during business hours to see the exhibitions!

PAST EXHIBITS

ÁRBOL DE LA VIDA

Translated as "Tree of Life," this show brings together 6 regional artists who express their unique perspectives through a range of mediums, including painting and tapestry. Their works speak to themes of growth, strength, and interconnectedness and weave a layered narrative of womanhood, resilience, and empowerment.

Artists: Dalia Garcia, Benita Martinez Sosa, Gabriela Santos Ramos, Maricruz Sibaja, Rima Villareal, Helen Yanez
Curator: Rafael Perea de la Cabada
This exhibition is made possible through a partnership between OPAC and the Mexican Consulate, with funding provided by NALAC and the California Arts Council.

Digital Catalog

8@5th

Artists From Our Community

8@5th / Artists from our Community is a group exhibition of select artists that deserve our full attention. Spotlighted because of their artistic qualities, diverse style and personal conceptual emphasis, these artists are internally bonded and unified in their proud embrace of their Mexican and American Cultural Heritage. They are living examples of the diverse and profoundly rich mosaic that constitutes the arts of our Community.

Also on view is the second installment of the incredible Mexican Print Collection of Gil García and Marti Correa de García of Santa Barbara, CA. Their collection brings visitors closer to the giants of Mexican Art, including: Francisco Toledo, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Clemente Orozco, Rufino Tamayo, Juan O’Gorman, Jose Luis Cuevas, Fanny Rabel and many more.

Digital Catalog

Cielo y Tierra

works by John Nava

CIELO Y TIERRA (Heaven and Earth) brings together recent work by Ojai artist John Nava drawn from two distinct spheres - the sacred realm of faith, hope and redemption and the material world plagued by suffering and injustice. It presents trial tapestries for the figure and portrait of Mary, Our Lady of the Angels, as well as images of young victims of the reckless actions of authority along the US-Mexico border.

Línea Continua

works by Porfirio Gutierrez

CONTINUOUS LINE presents new works by Zapotec textile artist, natural dyer and Ventura resident, Porfirio Gutiérrez. Porfirio challenges traditional textile value by redefining purpose and expanding upon the fluid tradition of Zapotec textile knowledge.

Digital Catalog

Lucha Libre Para Siempre

Photography of Bob Debris- Celebration of Mexican Wrestling

Canadian-born DeBris has called Ventura County home for 30 years. His photography documents funny, offbeat and different perspectives within subcultures as diverse as burlesque and gatherings of believers in aliens. Remarks DeBris, “Luchadores famous and not so are individuals who have dedicated their lives to this spectacular form of entertainment. Their motives are as varied as the moves, makeup and personas each one has adopted, giving life to the character they become in the ring. For some it's the realization of a lifelong dream—for others a family tradition. A few luchadores see it as a foot in the door to untold wealth. It’s a celebration of Mexican cultural heritage. It’s entertainment—it’s male bravado—its broken legs and ruptured disks—a momentary spotlight of glory—adoring fans—it’s vaudeville—morality tales—it’s about violence—good guys and bad guys—-about crooked referees—about dignity and indignity.

Digital Catalog

Cempohualli

works by Rafael Perea de la Cabada

Mexican Prints

from the Collection of Gil García and Marti Correa de García

2021 marked the Bicentennial of the Consummation of Mexican Independence and 500 years of the historical Memory of Tenochtitlan, the fall of the Aztec empire. On September 15, 2021, OPAC and the Consulate of Mexico in Oxnard presented two exhibitions of Mexican art that celebrated the past and connected us to the present with contemporary work. One exhibit brought visitors closer to the giants of mid-20th century Mexican Art, including Leopoldo Mendez, Rufino Tamayo, Clemente Orozco, Francisco Toledo, Jose luis Cuevas, Fanny Rabel, and others through the incredible Mexican Print Collection of Gil García and Marti Correa de García from Santa Barbara, CA.

The Mexican Print Collection was curated by renowned Mexican artist Rafael Perea de la Cabada, who also exhibited his own work in a show called, Cempohualli, an Aztec term for the number 20. There were 20 pieces of Perea’s artwork in the exhibition which explore themes of contemporary Mexican-American culture.

Digital Catalog