Day of Dead Exhibit Celebrates Life, Aims to Build Bridges in Community

To those not familiar with the Day of the Dead, celebrating death can seem like an odd thing. But the holiday is actually more about honoring loved ones that have passed on while acknowledging that death is an integral part of life.

To observe this tradition, which has been officially celebrated in Petaluma for the last 11 years, the offers a wonderful new exhibit of more than 40 local and international artists through Nov. 6.

This year’s theme is Bridges of Light, which organizers say expresses not only the transition from life, but also their wish to create a bridge between different Petaluma communities.

The exhibit kicked off Sept. 30, but events are scheduled all through the month of October. This Sunday, Oct. 16, world-renowned retablo artist Claudio Jimenez from Peru, arrives as artist-in-residence for one week. Retablos are images or scenes, often from the Bible, that are recreated using wood, metal, papier-mâché or other materials. On Oct. 21, Jimenez will give a demonstration on his method of making figurines from a paste made of boiled potato and powder chalk.

“If there’s a skeleton you’d like to buy, this is the time to do it. They’re incredible pieces and so affordable,” says Israel Escudero, one of the co-chairs of the Day of the Dead exhibit and celebration. During a show several years ago, all 650 of Jimenez's pieces were quickly swept up.

There are also several collections of Mexican art such as museum-quality papier-mâché pieces by Pedro Linares who molded figurines for Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. “Miracles of the Border” features over a dozen handmade metal painted retablos, some dating as far back as 1946, which give thanks to saints for saving lives. 

“We are honored to have all these artists together,” says Escudero. “Each year the local artwork submitted is better and better, with so many pieces to select from.”

Many of the pieces come from local Latino artists, like Alejandro Salazar, a Mexican-born graphic designer from Penngrove. The 33-year-old Salazar has four pieces in the show and says he draws his inspiration from the mystery of life.

“My work often contains a surreal, dreamlike feel—more of life than of death,” says Salazar.

Marty Steiner, 64, is another local artist featured in the show, who has three collages in the exhibit. Steiner says his paper tapestries create a window into a different reality with an “otherworldly” effect.

“My artistic outlook as one of delight. I like art that tells a story,” he says, calling collage the people’s art for its accessible form.

Another artist in the show is Maria de los Angeles, 23, who grew up in Mexico and later Santa Rosa, and now studies at the Fine Arts Painting at the Pratt Institute in New York. Inspired by the expressionists, she aims to show figures in physical environments as well as psychological spaces, she says.

“Environment determines what a person will become—whether in Mexico or America. When people are exposed to different things, the environment says more about who they are than just their faces do,” says de los Angeles, a graduate of Santa Rosa High’s Art Quest program.

Working in a variety of media, she created Pear #1 and #2 to portray offerings, ofrendas, put on the altar along with photos and marigolds. She based “Woman Dancer,” a copper plate etching from a woodcut she made, on a photograph by David Bacon of immigrants doing a traditional Mexican dance.

“Art should be about people and places,” she says. “It should reflect the world we live in.”

Day of the Day artwork that’s part of the Bridges of Light exhibit can also be seen at Aqus cafe, Boomerang, Pelican Gallery and Mail Depot. For a full list of Day of the Dead special events and workshops, click here.