Artist Hugo Crosthwaite, winner of the fifth triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition, speaks with Taína Caragol, curator of painting and sculpture and Latinx Art and History at the National Portrait Gallery, and co-curator of The Outwin: American Portraiture Today. Allowing the act of drawing to organically dictate his compositions in works that range from intimate drawings to large scale murals, Crosthwaite juxtaposes a wide range of textural and tonal ranges against spaces that alternate from dense and atmospheric to flat and graphic. His subjects—the everyday people that populate the border region of San Diego/Tijuana—are presented in a nonidealized documentary style that allows them to appear in their humble familiarity and authenticity.

Caragol will introduce the exhibition, and Crosthwaite will discuss his winning artwork, the stop-motion drawing animation A Portrait of Berenice Sarmiento Chávez (2018). The animation will also be screened during the conversation.

View the video of the program >>

About the speakers

Born in 1971 in Tijuana, Hugo Crosthwaite spent his formative years in Rosarito, Mexico. An American citizen with family on both sides of the border, he graduated from San Diego State University in 1997 with a BA in applied arts. Crosthwaite lives and works in San Diego and Rosarito. His works are included in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Orange County Museum of Art, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; San Diego Museum of Art; Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA; Boca Raton Museum of Art, FL; National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago; The Progressive Art Collection; and numerous private collections around the world.

Taína Caragol is curator of painting and sculpture, and Latinx art and history at the National Portrait Gallery. Her scholarship focuses on Latinx and Latin American art and its institutional and market validation, as well as on the recovery of histories suppressed by colonialism. Since her hiring in 2013 she has significantly increased the representation of Latinx historical figures and artists at the Portrait Gallery through acquisitions for the museum’s permanent collection and by curating or co-curating exhibitions such as One Life: Dolores Huerta; UnSeen: Our Past in a New Light, Ken Gonzales-Day and Titus Kaphar; and The Outwin 2019: American Portraiture Today. Upcoming shows include 1898: US Imperial Visions and Revisions, co-curated with Kate Clarke Lemay, and The Outwin 2022, which she will direct and co-curate with Leslie Ureña. Caragol has a BA in modern languages from the University of Puerto Rico, an MA in French studies from Middlebury College, and a PhD in art history from the Graduate Center, City University of New York.

In Conversation

“In Conversation” is a series of live online talks with artists, art historians, and scholars, exploring the intersections of art, history, and contemporary life. Bring your own questions and insights to these lively discussions from wherever you are.

Proyección y charla con el artista Hugo Crosthwaite

Artista Hugo Crosthwaite, ganador del quinto trienal Outwin Boochever Concurso de Retratos, habla con Taína Caragol, curadora de pintura y escultura y de Arte e Historia Latinx en la National Portrait Gallery, y co-curadora de la exposición Outwin: El retrato estadounidense hoy. Permitiendo que el acto de dibujar orgánicamente dicte las composiciones de sus obras– desde dibujos íntimos hasta murales a gran escala– Crosthwaite yuxtapone una gama de texturas y tonos contra espacios que alternan de densos y atmosféricos a planos y gráficos. Sus sujetos– la gente común que habita en la región fronteriza de San Diego/Tijuana– están presentados en estilo de documental sin idealización, permitiéndoles aparecer en su sencilla familiaridad y autenticidad.

Caragol presentará la exhibición, mientras Crosthwaite platicará sobre su obra ganadora, la animación de dibujo stop-motion titulada Retrato de Berenice Sarmiento Chávez (2018). La animación será proyectada durante la conversación.

El programa incluirá subtítulos en vivo en inglés y español.

Este programa es gratuito, pero es necesario registrarse. Regístrese aquí>>

Sobre los presentadores

Nacido en 1971 en Tijuana, Hugo Crosthwaite pasó sus años formativos en Rosarito, México. Un ciudadano americano con familia en ambos lados de la frontera, se graduó de San Diego State University en 1997 con una licenciatura en artes aplicadas. Crosthwaite vive y trabaja en San Diego y Rosarito. Sus obras se encuentran en las colecciones permanentes de Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Orange County Museum of Art, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; San Diego Museum of Art; Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA; Boca Raton Museum of Art, FL; National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago; The Progressive Art Collection; y numerosas colecciones privadas alrededor del mundo.

Taína Caragol es una curadora de pintura y escultura, y de arte e historia latina en la National Portrait Gallery. Su escolaridad se enfoca en el arte latino y latinoamericano y su validación institucional y de marcado, así como en la recuperación de historias reprimidas por el colonialismo. Desde su contratación en 2013, Caragol ha aumentado la representación de figuras históricas y artistas latinxs en la Portrait Gallery a través de adquisiciones para la colección permanente del museo y mediante la curaduría o co-curaduría de exposiciones como One Life: Dolores Huerta; UnSeen: Our Past in a New Light, Ken Gonzales-Day and Titus Kaphar; and The Outwin 2019: American Portraiture Today. Las próximas exhibiciones incluyen 1898: US Imperial Visions and Revisions, co-curada con Kate Clarke Lemay, y The Outwin 2022, que dirigirá con Leslie Ureña. Caragol tiene una licenciatura en idiomas modernas de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, una maestría en estudios Franceses de Middlebury College, y un doctorado en historia del arte del Graduate Center, City University of New York.

In Conversation

“In Conversation” es una serie de charlas virtuales en vivo con artistas, historiadores del arte y académicos que exploran las intersecciones del arte, la historia y la vida contemporánea. Traiga sus propias preguntas e ideas a estas animadas discusiones desde donde se encuentre.