Natalie Gonzalez may be one of the hardest working artists in San Diego.
This is a bold proclamation for sure, but in hearing her recount her creative journey, the listener might find themselves wide-eyed and astounded at the ways in which she has proved herself to be a truly creative multi-hyphenate in San Diego.
“I think a word that I use a lot is perseverance,” says Gonzalez from her Golden Hill home. “I’ve always been the one managing or coordinating or organizing. This is the first time I’ve been the artist. Everything prepared me for this.”
The “this” in question is “Ventana Huichola,” a vast, site-specific installation that will open at the Oceanside Museum of Art on April 26.
The result of months of community workshops at OMA and other venues, the installation will be made up of dozens of tsikuris, a traditional folk art form of the indigenous Huichol people of Northwest Mexico. Also known as an “eye of God,” the tsikuri consists of a rhombus made of multicolored yarn and is meant to offer both protection and the power to see things that are unknown.
Gonzalez first began constructing the tsikuris during what she recalls as a “personal crisis” shortly after moving to San Diego nearly five years ago.
“I never did them with the intention of them becoming art. I just did them because I was stressed,” said Gonzalez, who had worked in paint and mixed-media before she began constructing the tsikuris. “I just started it as a form of art therapy. I never saw it becoming an installation.”
It’s an interesting parallel. Just as the Huichol people craft the tsikuris not as an art form per se, but rather as a votive tradition rooted in spiritual beliefs, Gonzalez was also crafting her own tsikuris out of necessity. And just as the Huichol construct the tsikuris as a means of marking personal milestones and growth, Gonzalez was also growing as an artist after years of attempting to find her way in the local visual art scene.
“It was just a release from what I was going through at the time, but then I looked around me and there were like 30 of them on the floor,” Gonzalez says, laughing. “I asked myself, ‘am I just hoarding hands of God?’”
She began exploring ways in which she could both explore the medium further, as well as ways in which to honor the roots of the craft itself.
She proposed the project to a number of local institutions and organizations, which would lead to a series of workshops and exhibitions at places such as The FRONT Arte Cultura in San Ysidro and The Soap Factory in Logan Heights.
With the OMA workshops completed, the subsequent exhibition will be the most ambitious display of the tsikuris yet, with the finished works compiled, curated and re-contextualized into something altogether new.
“My goal has always been that they’re made by the community,” says, pointing out that she sees herself more as the “facilitator” rather than the artist of the exhibition and plans to return the tsikuris to the people who created them once the exhibition closes on September 21.
“The challenge here is that not all of the tsikuris are perfect. These were made by kids, seniors, the whole family, but they do it and I have to make it work.”
Born in Los Angeles, but growing up primarily in Guadalajara, Mexico, Gonzalez was often drawn to traditional forms of art-making. At the University of Guadalajara, she initially studied music before shifting to Cultural Management. Once out of college, she began working behind the scenes, both in Mexico and the United Kingdom, but soon found herself wanting to pursue her own work. This feeling became increasingly prevalent during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I asked myself, ‘what do you want to do, Natalie?’” Gonzalez reflects. “‘What is it that drives you? If this is the end of the world, what is it that you want to do with the rest of your time?’ And I decided I want to create stuff.”
Gonzales also wanted a fresh start somewhere new and San Diego seemed to be the perfect location to pursue her creative dreams.
“There’s artists from all over the world. I thought this was the perfect city for me, because it’s also very strategic. It’s the best of two worlds; Mexico is right there and L.A. is also very close.”
Still, she didn’t have any connections in the city and, what’s more, she hadn’t lived in the U.S. for 25 years. Once here, however, she worked multiple jobs and would “paint in secret,” sending emails and messages to art institutions and galleries in what little spare time she had. She eventually heard back from OMA for a freelance curator position, as well as a position working in the downtown Sparks Gallery.
“Last year was the first year I was able to pay all my rent and living out of working in the arts,” Gonzalez says.
In speaking with Gonzalez now, one gets the sense that “Ventana Huichola” is not only her tribute to a traditional art form, but something of a tribute to a city that she’s made it in, both literally and professionally.
“For me, this show will be a little homage to San Diego, my thank you to San Diego,” she says. “The last four years have been amazing for me. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been an amazing journey.”
Natalie Gonzalez presents ‘Ventana Huichola’
When: Opens April 26 and runs through Sept. 21; exhibit celebration, 5-7 p.m. May 3
Where: Oceanside Museum of Art, 704 Pier View Way, Oceanside
ission: Free to $15
Info: 760-435-3720
Online: oma-online.org/ventana-huichola
