The Mix! Series is the creation of the The Dallas Center for Contemporary Art and Joan Davidow, its Director.  Each year the Mix! Series presents five young, ethnically and geographically diverse Texas artists whose work is as influenced by their cultural background as it is by the world-discourse of contemporary art.  At The Dallas Contemporary, each artist is given a focus exhibition during his or her year in the Mix!. 

For the Landmark Arts Mix! 2005 [redux] exhibition, we have curated a group exhibition, selecting either recent work or commissioning new work, from four of the five 2005 Mix! Series artists.  The resulting exhibition, which includes work by Alejandro Almanza Pereda, Luz Maria Sanchez, Suguru Hiraide, and Takako Tanabe, is a strong representation of many of the current trends in contemporary art involving sculptural installation and a phenomenological approach to the manipulation of tempro-spatial experience. 

Suguru Hiraide, a Japanese-American artist produces work using stainless steel material to create his kinetic and audio installations. The final presentation comments on his family and cultural memories from Japan. One work titled “Aeon Kid” presents a small, cast-bronze child caged in a stainless steel sculpture reaching over six feet tall. The small child rotates in an energetic, playful manner, giving the audience an interactive experience.

Alejandro Almanza Pereda creates large installations using plastic tubing, water and light. He suspends his materials from the ceiling engulfing the room in organic shapes. The El Paso artist uses this combination of water and electricity to comment on how we address risk. The translucent light and bulbous shadows bring thoughts of figures, feeding tubes, life and death.

Luz Maria Sanchez’s audio installations address a Mexican-

Luz Maria Sanchez Untitled, 2004 8 speakers, 2 receivers, 2 CD players

American cultural experience - how a transplanted society embraces an American way of life while maintaining its traditions. Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, this San Antonio based artist captures sounds from the Laredo and Nuevo Laredo landscape and dance hall music creating an audio sculptural experience for the audience to witness the sounds of the Hispanic experience.

Takako Tanabe The Place Where it Begins, 2005 plaster and concrete

Japanese-American artist, Takako Tanabe, combines drawings and delicate sculpture works coupled with larger floor sculptures to depict Japanese smokestacks. A form particular to Japan and quickly disappearing from her native landscape, these concrete smokestacks and drawings create a scenario that is both personal and engaging.

Mix! 2005 [redux] presents the Texas Tech University community with a global approach to contemporary art. This culturally-rich mix of international male and female artists offers insight into the current trends presented in contemporary art. The Mix! 2005 [redux] exhibition engages the viewer with a 3-dimensional experience of spatial relationships while many of the works include audio elements to further facilitate an interactive experience.

Kirby Guthrie Curatorial Assistant
Mix! Exhibition