Actor and Art Collector Cheech Marin to Visit UW

August 16, 2013 — Well-known entertainer Cheech Marin, who has gained additional acclaim as a collector of Chicano art, is scheduled to visit the University of Wyoming campus and present two public programs on Sept. 6-7.

Marin will speak about “Chicano Art: Cultivating the Chicano Future” at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 6, in the Wyoming Union Ballroom, followed by a book signing. On Saturday, Sept. 7, at 10:30 a.m., he will give an informal gallery walk-through at the UW Art Museum. Both programs are free and open to the public.

An opening reception to celebrate the exhibition is planned Friday, Sept. 6, from 6-8 p.m. at the UW Art Museum. This event also is free and open to the public.

While on campus, Marin also will meet with faculty members and students from the Chicano Studies, American Studies, Art and History departments.

Marin, who is best known for his work in movies, television and improvisational comedy, has been acquiring art for more than 25 years and has amassed arguably the most renowned collection of Chicano art in private hands.

“Cheech Marin’s efforts as a collector of and advocate for Chicano art have made this important art genre visible and accessible to main street America,” says the UW Art Museum’s director and chief curator, Susan Moldenhauer. “His public lecture will illuminate the importance of this art and explore its connections to the broader genre of American art.”

A selection of paintings from Marin’s private collection will be on view at the UW Art Museum Sept. 7-Nov. 23. “Chicanitas: Small Paintings from the Cheech Marin Collection” features paintings all under 16 by 16 inches, and showcases 26 established and emerging Chicano artists. The painting styles include photo-realism, abstraction, portraits and landscapes.

“’Chicanitas’ is drawn from Marin’s most recent interest in collecting works that explore the personal lives and daily routines of the Chicano experience,” Moldenhauer says. “Smaller in scale than the large canvases that Chicano artists have used to convey the political and social realm of their experience, the paintings in the exhibition offer more personal yet powerful perspective of their lives.”

The exhibition and Marin’s visit are made possible in part by the Wyoming Humanities Council, Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, Wyoming Arts Council through the Wyoming State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts, UW Chicano Studies, UW Multicultural Affairs, UW Student Activities Council, UW Art Department, Wyoming Institute for Humanities Research, ASUW, MEChA, UW National Advisory Board Endowment, and UW Art Museum Gala funds.