Roxbury artist Rixy’s exhibition “Enter the Cúcala” is on view at Simmons University’s Trustman Gallery, 300 The Fenway, Boston, from April 4 to May 13, 2022.

“This series investigates Rixy’s personal Caribbean Latinidad experiences and explores a world inhabited by her cast of strong, vivacious and daring femme characters,” according to the gallery. “Painted with a variety of media, works in the exhibition seek to liberate Rixy’s characters from Machismento’s toxicity and recontextualize them in an environment of shifting power dynamics. Each femme character and creature, carefully and lovingly rendered in bright, dazzling colors, exudes sensual awareness. Depicted on found materials like packaging cardboard imbued with the sense-memory of previously contained objects, Rixy’s characters take on an additional dimension of meaning, in line with the artist’s emphasis on communal practice and storytelling. Rixy grounds her work with a sense of site-specificity through hand-painted designs on the gallery’s walls, as well as strings, chains, ropes, and braids that act as physical connections between her artwork and the space, bringing her dynamic, colorful world into our reality.”

And what is the translation of the exhibition title? The gallery explains: “Online results will tell you that ‘cúcala’ means ‘wink,’ but actually the term as it is used in this exhibition is a reference to the Spanish slang that Rixy learned from her mother, who would use the word ‘cúcala’ to mean the vagina.”


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Rixy. (Courtesy Simmons University's Trustman Art Gallery)
Rixy. (Courtesy Simmons University’s Trustman Art Gallery)
Rixy, “2 In a Room - Giddy Up (1995)” 2022, 70x85in, Spray paint, acrylic, ink, oil stick, + thread on treated cardboards, with twill rope.
Rixy, “2 In a Room – Giddy Up (1995)” 2022, 70x85in, Spray paint, acrylic, ink, oil stick, + thread on treated cardboards, with twill rope.
Rixy’s "Enter the Cúcala" exhibition at Simmons University's Trustman Art Gallery, April 2022.
Rixy’s “Enter the Cúcala” exhibition at Simmons University’s Trustman Art Gallery, April 2022.
Rixy, “y Gargola 2,” 2020, 20x24in, Acrylic + ink on treated canvas.
Rixy, “y Gargola 2,” 2020, 20x24in, Acrylic + ink on treated canvas.

 

Rixy, “Now What Kind of Knucklehead Told Y’all To Go This Way?” 2022, 50x40in, Paper, spray paint, acrylic, ink, marker, thread + fire on treated cardboards, with paracord.
Rixy, “Now What Kind of Knucklehead Told Y’all To Go This Way?” 2022, 50x40in, Paper, spray paint, acrylic, ink, marker, thread + fire on treated cardboards, with paracord.
Rixy, “Sketch X: An offering to Her,” 2021, 30x48in, Marker on craft paper + fabric.
Rixy, “Sketch X: An offering to Her,” 2021, 30x48in, Marker on craft paper + fabric.
Rixy, “Hypnotized by the Charmer,” 2021, 30x24in, Spray paint, acrylic, ink + iridescence on cardboard, with plastic chain link + brass hardware.
Rixy, “Hypnotized by the Charmer,” 2021, 30x24in, Spray paint, acrylic, ink + iridescence on cardboard, with plastic chain link + brass hardware.
Rixy, “Gargola 1,” 2020, 20x24in, Acrylic, ink, + thread, on treated canvas.
Rixy, “Gargola 1,” 2020, 20x24in, Acrylic, ink, + thread, on treated canvas.
Rixy, “Attuned to the Messenger,” 2021, 24x30in, Spray paint, acrylic, ink + iridescence on cardboard, with paracord + brass hardware.
Rixy, “Attuned to the Messenger,” 2021, 24x30in, Spray paint, acrylic, ink + iridescence on cardboard, with paracord + brass hardware.
Rixy, “A Baby Blue Vessel,” 2022, 30x90in, Acrylic, ink + Iridescence on cardboard, with synthetic hair tails, cowrie shells, + bamboo bar.
Rixy, “A Baby Blue Vessel,” 2022, 30x90in, Acrylic, ink + Iridescence on cardboard, with synthetic hair tails, cowrie shells, + bamboo bar.
Rixy, “To Not Give a Mango’s Damn,” 2021, 69x69in, ultraviolet paper, spray paint, acrylic, ink, marker, pencil, thread + fire on treated cardboards, with synthetic hair tail, cowrie shells, + brass hardware.
Rixy, “To Not Give a Mango’s Damn,” 2021, 69x69in, ultraviolet paper, spray paint, acrylic, ink, marker, pencil, thread + fire on treated cardboards, with synthetic hair tail, cowrie shells, + brass hardware.
Rixy's 2020 mural at 877 Main St., Cambridge. (©Greg Cook photo)
Rixy’s 2020 mural at 877 Main St., Cambridge. (©Greg Cook photo)
Rixy's 2020 mural at 877 Main St., Cambridge. (©Greg Cook photo)
Rixy’s 2020 mural at 877 Main St., Cambridge. (©Greg Cook photo)
Postcard for Rixy’s "Enter the Cúcala" exhibition at Simmons University's Trustman Art Gallery, April 2022.
Postcard for Rixy’s “Enter the Cúcala” exhibition at Simmons University’s Trustman Art Gallery, April 2022.
Categories: Art