OPAC's Gallery at The Mexican Consulate
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!
The Mexican Consulate in Oxnard
Address
3151 W 5th Street
Oxnard, CA 93030
Contact
805-330-3060
Opening Hours
Mon - Fri
8:30 am – 4:30 pm
Saturday
Closed
Sunday
Closed
Thank you to our sponsors:
CURRENT
EXHIBITIONS
A MAN WITH AN ECHO
Homage Exhibition to Roger von Gunten
UN HOMBRE CON ECO
Exposición Homenaje a Roger von Gunten
Curated by Rafael Perea de la Cabada | Presented by OPAC
March 6th- May 8th
This exhibition pays tribute to Roger von Gunten (1933–2026), a Swiss-Mexican artist whose singular work offers a poetic and deeply personal vision of modern art . Von Gunten is recognized as a significant figure within La Generación de la Ruptura, an artistic movement that, in the mid-20th century, challenged the dominant values of Mexican muralism and opened national art to more diverse and international languages and approaches. For over six decades, von Gunten’s painting created a space where imagination and reality freely engage in dialogue.
The exhibition presents his work alongside artists closely associated with the Ruptura — José Luis Cuevas, Manuel Felguérez, Vicente Rojo, Vlady Kibalchich, Brian Nissen, and Francisco Toledo —as well as figures who influenced this path, Mathias Goeritz and Rufino Tamayo.
PAST EXHIBITS
ANONYMOUS HEROES
Selections from the Collection of the Santa Paula Art Museum
HÉROES ANÓNIMOS
Selecciones de la Colección del Santa Paula Art Museum
Anonymous Heroes / Héroes Anónimos brings together selections from the Santa Paula Art Museum’s collection in a special collaboration with the Mexican Consulate in Oxnard. The exhibition honors the quiet strength and everyday contributions of farmworkers whose labor, creativity, and resilience have long sustained our region. In a moment when immigrant communities continue to face uncertainty and challenge, these works stand as a reminder of their essential role in shaping the cultural and economic fabric of Ventura County. For Oxnard—home to generations of farmworking families—this exhibition affirms their presence, celebrates their impact, and underscores the value of their enduring contributions.
Featured artists:
Carlos Almaraz
Tony Jankowski
Cornelis Botke
Gail Pidduck
John Nichols
Eloy Torrez
Sergio Hernandez
Wihimina Puisifer
Judy Baca
Robert von Sternberg
Kay B. Snodgrass
Xavier Montes
ÁRT 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.
Curated by: Adriana Arriaga & Rafael Perea de la Cabada
Artists: 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.