On July 6, La Linea Art Studio celebrated the opening of “Capirotada”, a show featuring the intricate miniatures of Jorge Ruiz. His designs are replicas of familiar buildings and business signs of Ambos Nogales and Tucson, created with extreme detail, down to the rust stains and faded letters of a facade.
Jorge creates his miniatures with special care and respect for what he observes in real life. His work allows the viewer to see a building or sign as it stands, or maybe as it once stood, places and objects frozen in time. Some of his creations also time travel to the future, for instance, his ‘Bracker’s 2050’ vertical sign. Although the business has been closed for a few years, thankfully the iconic letters still adorn the original building today. In Jorge’s version, the Bracker’s sign is depicted in the year 2050 and the letters have some vibrant graffiti added to them.
The show’s name “Capirotada” refers to the popular Mexican dessert that involves a combination of many ingredients. This exhibition is an impressive mixture of work by several borderlands artists. Esteban Michel has two large-scale works on display including an astoundingly well-executed quilt made of many recycled denim squares depicting a spiral pattern. Tucson muralist Danny Martin presents three ink drawings of Morley Avenue drawn in 2017, 2020, and 2023. Randy Martin’s sharp and decisive drawings on paper, using black and red ink, are alluring and imaginative. Carlos Robinson shows several photographs that display his sensitivity to light and give us a fresh perspective of local scenes. Karlito Miller Espinosa (Mata Ruda) has two striking large-scale oil paintings on display that are full of nostalgia and also emphasize the artist’s relationship to the Sonoran desert.
Throughout the space visitors can read powerful poems by Andrea Vallejo that ruminate on border life. Be sure to also look for Olga Salazar’s charming ‘tacos de perro’ acrylic painting when you visit, an especially nice addition to the show since the opening reception involved delicious tacos de perro from across the line. Last but not least, take your photo with Jorge Ruiz’s “NOGI” mural, a gorgeous painting that shows a towering Olmec head, an iconic image that was used for the original Americana Hotel’s logo in 1971.
La Linea Art Studio is open by appointment 7 days a week. To schedule your visit please email: somoslalinea@gmail.com
