Local Latino artists featured in Nelson-Atkins Museum exhibit
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Juan Moya is one of 22 artists featured on the walls of Nelson-Atkins’ latest exhibit, A Layered Presence.
Take a walk through the exhibit inside the Nelson-Atkins Museum and you’re sure to see some names you may recognize.
Twenty-two local artists are peeling back their layers, giving a glimpse inside their world.
Kathleen Leighton with the museum says all of them have ties to Latin America.
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“You’re looking at their feelings and their experiences, some of them dealing with immigration, some of them, their own personal feelings in a variety of ways,” Leighton said.
Artist Juan Moya was born and raised in Kansas City. His art, “Con Safos Kansas City” translates to “With respect Kansas City.”
It’s 300 hours of work brought to life with colored pencils on a wood panel.
“When they offered me the opportunity to do this, I knew that I would have to bring in the neighborhood that I was born and raised into the museum,” he said.
That’s Chicano culture. People of Mexican descent, born in the U.S. On it, his layers are images burned into his memory from growing up on the west side, from popular spots, to religion, to the Aztec calendar.
“Honestly, I didn’t know how big it really was until a coworker told me your work is hanging in the halls with Caravaggio and when he told me that, that kind of set in differently when he said that,” Moya said.
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His love for art pours into the community. He’s a tattoo artist and he’s competing with a few other artists to re-do the Gage Park stairs, which he painted over 30 years ago as a teen.
“For only local residents on the west side, to vote, so if anyone is around and would like to come through and vote June 20 at the Guadalupe Center for me, that’d be awesome,” Moya said.
The exhibit runs through September 8.
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