The San Luis Obispo Museum of Art is pleased to announce Memories of the Future, a solo exhibition by artist Esteban Cabeza de Baca. On view in the Museum’s Gray Wing February 22 – June 22, 2025, this collection of 11 paintings signifies the artist’s West Coast debut.
Esteban Cabeza de Baca’s paintings dance between histories, landscapes, and time – speaking to his ancestry and inviting visitors to consider all stories of immigration, Indigenous identity and resistance. Cabeza de Baca was born into a family of labor activists working in San Ysidro, California and spent his childhood driving the long journey between California and New Mexico. Ranging from 2015 to 2024, the eleven paintings in the gallery explore issues of belonging, identity, activism, joy and celebration. It is the artist’s first solo Museum exhibition on the West Coast.
Often painting on square canvases, Cabeza de Baca’s paintings feel like snippets of time, as if recreated from a dream or a childhood memory. In March to Sacramento, he portrays the Delano grape workers who marched to protest poor working conditions and low wages, whose work, in collaboration with Cesar Chavez, led to the formation of the United Farm Workers, the largest farm worker union in the United States. Other works, such as Teatro Campesino and Suenos, further highlight an important conversation around agricultural labor and human rights. Throughout the work, you may notice depictions of Mexican cloth dolls gifted to the artist by his mother. The dolls ground the images in the artist’s childhood while reaching towards – and remembering – the future. Works like Medicina Lunar and Hybrids use the artist’s ancestral landscapes as another distinct voice before they are lost to time and memory. Esteban Cabeza de Baca’s work explores the personal stories and significant civil movements that shape our perspective, sharing a clear vision for a more equal world.
“At SLOMA, we are thrilled to present this exhibition, which challenges us to see beyond
the present moment and engage with the deep, interconnected stories that shape our
world,” said Leann Standish, Executive Director.
This exhibition is presented by Cal Poly, Cal Poly’s Office of Diversity & Inclusion, Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Sue Sacks and Kelly Sinnock with additional support from Hotel San Luis Obispo and KSBY.
Memories of the Future: February 22 – June 22, 2025
Member Preview: Friday, February 21, 6-8 p.m.
Artist’s Talk with Esteban Cabeza de Baca: February 22 at 10:30 a.m. – San Luis Obispo Museum of Art