Carlos Donjuan – an artist based in Dallas, Texas whose works have been represented in Cheech Marin’s notable Chicano art collection since 2009 – is having his first solo exhibition in Houston, Texas. Learn more about Carlos Donjuan and see the works available for sale on the gallery’s website.
Carlos Donjuan | DREAM DREAM DREAM
Artist Reception • Saturday, October 14, 2023 • 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Nicole Longnecker Gallery • 1440 Greengrass Dr., Houston, TX 77008
www.longneckergallery.com
Open Tue-Sat 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM or request an appointment at gallery@longneckergallery.com or (346) 800-2780
I am proud to also share that I recommended Carlos and this show to Nicole and her colleague Brad Barber. Years ago, the artist’s work was included in a group exhibition at the gallery’s former location, so it was a natural progression to do a solo show in her current space. I’ve also worked with the gallery before: in 2019, we brought a show to Houston that featured the de la Torre brothers (Einar and Jamex) as part of the Smithsonian’s “Latino Art Now!” (organized by IUPLR with the University of Houston’s Center for Mexican American Studies).
I first connected with Carlos back in 2009. The second museum exhibition that I organized for Cheech as well as the first art book that I published about his notable Chicano art collection was titled “Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection (size doesn’t matter),” which toured the country to 16 museums from 2009 to 2017. For that project, Cheech wanted to include new artists, so I reached out to our mutual friend Richard S. Duardo, an artist and a master printer known for keeping an eye on rising stars in the art world (he was also the originator and collaborator on our previous art project “The Chicano Collection / La Colección Chicana” – watch our documentary film HERE).
For “Chicanitas,” Duardo suggested Carlos so I introduced myself to the artist, connected him with Cheech, and shortly thereafter, Cheech acquired two small paintings that we included in our nationally touring exhibition and accompanying art book (El Segundo and Los Super Feos).
Next, the collector then acquired four more works by Carlos for our next traveling exhibition and book project, “Paper Chicano: Works on Paper from the Cheech Marin Collection.”
Carlos’ works quickly have become some of Cheech’s favorites, and over the years, he has acquired more than 10 additional works, which we included in other museum exhibitions, including “Chicano Dream” in 2014 that I helped to organize for the Musée d’Aquitaine in Bordeaux, France (Donjuan’s painting “Nasty Nez” was the cover image of that exhibition catalog).
