Deck the Halls! Yep, it’s February, and if 2020 has taught us anything, is that we need to surround ourselves with color and stories and deck the halls. Maybe a bit inspired by the tradition and renaissance of mural art in the Bay Area, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art commissioned some big, beautiful wall projects we told you about last Fall, the works of Muzae Sesay and Twin Walls Mural Company. As soon as it’s safe to open, SFMOMA invites visitors to feast a big gaze at Conjuro para la sanacion de nuestro futura, a new mural by Oakland-based Liz Hernandez.
In Spanish, that translates to “A spell for the healing of our future, and “feast” is indeed the operative verb. Watching her at work on the mural, it’s natural to recall the actions and words of internationally cherished chef Jose Andres who has made it his mission to dispatch meals and comfort to needy citizens of the world, explaining, “I realized very early the power of food to evoke memory, to bring people together, to transport you to other places.”
The Mexico City-born artist, who came to the States at age 19 to study product design at the California College of the Arts, grew homesick and found herself returning to memory, as well. As a cook nurtures physical health and fullness, an artist provides the comfort of hope and vision, and Hernandez found a mission in honoring her experiences growing up in and around her grandmother’s house. Greeting museum visitors on the third-floor landing, the mural warms and embraces with earthy colors that evoke history and familiarity, but also serve up caution and responsibility for the land and for each other. Healing rituals and universal spiritual communication have survived the test of time and Hernandez speaks to viewers clearly and lovingly in words and images that are powerful in their size and simplicity. She hopes "they find a symbol or sentence that really gives them comfort and hope. I want people to feel powerful.” —Gwynned Vitello