PRESS RELEASE: LMU’s Laband Art Gallery Presents “Seeing Chicanx: The Durón Family Collection,” a Visual History of L.A.’s Chicanx Art Scene
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 18, 2025 — Loyola Marymount University’s Laband Art Gallery presents its fall 2025 exhibition “Seeing Chicanx: The Durón Family Collection,” on view from Sept. 25 to Dec. 6, 2025. This expansive show presents a selection of nearly 50 Chicanx artists who have called Southern California their home. The exhibition is curated by Karen Mary Davalos, a leading scholar of Chicana/o/x art history, and drawn from the private collection of Armando and Mary Salinas Durón.
“Seeing Chicanx: The Durón Family Collection” offers a multi-faceted portrayal of the Los Angeles region's Chicanx art scene from the 1970s to present day. Davalos has selected around 50 works from the Durón collection — that, to date, comprises more than 700 pieces — to encapsulate the cultural, social, and artistic ripple effects of the historic Chicano Movement (1965-80). The exhibition highlights key contemporary works from the collection to provide a visual history of the Chicanx community’s creative vitality in California.
“Seeing Chicanx: The Durón Family Collection” encompasses a wide range of artistic styles and approaches that challenge the expectations often associated with Chicanx art. As Davalos comments about the ethos of the Durón collection, “if you think you know Chicano art, think again.” The exhibited works span from naturalistic and figurative representations to abstraction, expressionism, and conceptual art, showcasing a variety of media, including paintings, drawings, photography, and sculptures.
The exhibition's focal image, “Trees on Lorena Street” (2008) by Roberto Gutierrez (b. 1943), is an example of the personal and intimate portrayals of Chicanx life and stories. The painting depicts Boyle Heights, Los Angeles’ vibrant working-class community of predominantly Mexican heritage. Gutierrez’s use of light and shadow amidst the verdant canopy of trees serves as a visual counterpoint to the conventional portrayal of most urban landscapes. “Seeing Chicanx” includes works by artists such as Judy Baca (b. 1946), Chaz Bójorquez (b. 1949), Gilbert "Maju" Luján (1940-2011), Shizu Saldamando (b. 1978), and more.
Recognizing the scarcity of Latinx arts patrons and the imperative of claiming their cultural heritage, the Duróns embarked on their journey as Chicanx art collectors in the early 1980s. Today, their collection stands as a counter-narrative to dominant and stereotypical representations of Mexican-heritage populations. In her essay published in the exhibition catalogue, Davalos describes the Duróns as “citizen collectors” who are engaging in arts patronage as a force for change. As cultural leaders, she writes, “they see their acquisitions as a reconsideration of social hierarchies, as lessons for their children… and as civic accountability beyond their home.” Through their decades-long stewardship, the Duróns have played a pivotal role in enhancing the visibility and appreciation of Chicanx art and its role in shaping Los Angeles, California, and our nation’s cultural landscape.
Hosting this exhibition at LMU is especially meaningful because it allows the university to celebrate the achievements of two distinguished alumni, and welcome back to campus Davalos, a former longtime faculty member. Armando Durón ’76 and Mary Salinas ’75 met as undergraduates and were drawn together by their shared deep commitment to social justice and eagerness to take on leadership roles in student government and organizations like MEChA. Post-grad, they spearheaded the revitalization of LMU’s Mexican American Alumni Association (MAAA), which transformed into the Latino Alumni Association. Mary Durón compares the significance of mounting this exhibition at LMU to “a homecoming; it’s a recognition of our accomplishments that we love to share with the LMU community.” Guest Curator Davalos, professor of Chicano and Latino Studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, spent nearly 20 years on the LMU faculty. “Seeing Chicanx” is the first exhibition Davalos has curated at the Laband.
Free Public Programming
Curator’s Walkthrough with Karen Mary Davalos
Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025 Noon to 1 p.m., Laband Art Gallery
Opening Reception
Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, from 1 to 3 p.m., Laband Art Gallery
Gallery Conversation with Armando Durón & Max Durón
Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, 1 p.m., Laband Art Gallery
Join Armando Durón and his son Maximiliano Durón, senior editor of ARTnews, in their first public discussion about the Durón Family Collection.
Additional events will be announced.
Traveling Exhibition
The travelling exhibition, “Seeing Chicanx: The Durón Family Collection,” was guest curated by Karen Mary Davalosand organized by the Monterey Museum of Art in Monterey, California, where it was on view from Jan. 18 to April 28, 2024. The exhibition is supported in part by Barbara Schilling and Richard Carr with additional support from Alta Med Health Services. Special thanks to Armando and Mary Salinas Durón.
Publication
A second edition of the accompanying catalogue will be available for purchase. The publication is 66 pages with essay by Karen Mary Davalos, introduction by Armando Durón and foreword by Corey Madden, Director of the Monterey Museum of Art.
About the Curator
Karen Mary Davalos, professor of Chicano and Latino Studies at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, is a leading scholar in Chicana/o/x art history. Previously, she was Professor of Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies at LMU (1997 -2016). Her recent book, “Chicana/o Remix: Art and Errata since the Sixties” (NYU Press, 2017) is informed by life history interviews with eighteen artists, a decade of ethnographic research in southern California, and archival research examining fifty years of Chicanx art in Los Angeles since 1963. In 2016, she launched with Dr. Constance Cortez (UTRGV), the search tool, Mexican American Art Since 1848, which compiles nearly 20,000 records from existing digital collections at libraries, archives, and museums. She serves on the board of directors of Self Help Graphics & Art, the oldest Chicana/o/x – Latinx arts organization in Southern California.
