KIRK HOPPER FINE ART

GIL ROCHA

September 14 – October 19

In “Cruzando Borders: A Topography of Decay and Resilience” I explore the complex narratives woven into the landscapes that straddle the U.S.-Mexico border. This body of work is a testament to the persistence of life amidst decay and the undying spirit that refuses to be silenced by the forces of division.

My work is deeply rooted in my experiences growing up in the 1980s and 90s, a time when I frequently crossed from Laredo, Texas into Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas Mexico to visit friends and family. Later, as a teenager and young adult, I would immerse myself in the vibrant nightlife of the border. The nightclubs of that era, pulsating with the beats of Cumbias, Hip Hop and Corridos, were more than just places of escape—they were spaces where cultures collided, and stories unfolded. Venturing into Boys Town (La Zona), I witnessed firsthand the raw, unfiltered realities of life along the border. The vibrant colors, women, smells, textures, signs, sounds and neon lights of that spectacle played a vital role in my development as an artist and an indelible mark on my art.

Even though a lot has changed, and seldom do I go across anymore, I continue to see signs of a vibrancy that resonates from those days.

Drawing from Rasquache aesthetics, my art embraces the imperfect, the discarded, and the overlooked, transforming these elements into powerful symbols of endurance and resistance.

Music plays a vital role in shaping this narrative. The rhythms of Cumbias and the stories told through Corridos infuse the work with a pulsating energy, reflecting the heartbeat of border culture. These musical influences resonate through the images and text that punctuate each piece. The presence of beautiful women, both in imagery and symbolism, adds a layer of sensuality and strength, that highlights the fragility of fading beauty.

Through a combination of mixed media, found objects, and organic materials, I aim to create a visual dialogue that reflects the dualities of this region—the beauty and the brutality, the decay and the renewal. The integration of text within my work serves as both a narrative and a visual element, guiding the viewer through stories of crossing, struggle, and survival. Each piece in this exhibition is a fragment of a larger narrative, a story of crossing not just physical boundaries, but also the borders of identity, culture, and humanity itself.

In this exhibition, I invite viewers to contemplate the tensions and harmonies that define the borderlands and to consider their own place within these broader narratives.

– Gil Rocha, 2023

Gil Rocha is a South Texas artist, former educator, and curator born in Laredo, TX. He earned a Master of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2006), a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Texas at San Antonio (1999), and is certified as an all-level Texas Educator from Texas A&M International University (2002).

For the past 25 years, Rocha’s professional artistic career has led him to engage in a variety of programs taking on roles that span from facilitating workshops for community based projects, participating on panels, and working on public artworks and murals, in collaboration with galleries and museums on the national and international level. His artwork expands across painting, collage, sculpture, assemblage, installation, and writing. He focuses on issues about the U.S./Mexico border and takes on a survivalist approach known as “Rasquache.”

Most recently Rocha’s work was part of a 2024 Border Biennial (El Paso Museum of Art), Convergence x Crossroads: Street Art from the Southwest (National Hispanic Cultural Center, Albuquerque, NM.), Creating Encuentros: Changarrito (Mexic-Arte Museum. Austin, TX.), Brick by Brick. (Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts. Brownsville, TX.), Son de Allá, Son de Acá (Chicano Park. San Diego, NM.), Soy de Tejas (Centro de Artes. San Antonio, TX.) and will be part of the 2024 Texas Biennial – The Last Sky (Blaffer Art Museum, Houston, TX.).

Kirk Hopper Fine Art
1426 N Riverfront Blvd
Dallas, TX 75207
214.760.9230
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