Search 
Labor of Love
The following description was submitted by the event organizer.
The artists featured in Labor of Love produce work that aims to expose and highlight labor practices that have been historically and systematically concealed from the public sphere. Working across a wide variety of media and using a range of conceptual approaches, the eight artists exhibited here seek to explore that which is often hidden just under the surface or kept at arm’s length: the physical, emotional, and intellectual labor that is vital to the smooth and ongoing function of innumerable aspects of our everyday lives.
Hidden, unseen, or invisible labor is work that goes unnoticed, unacknowledged, and thus, unregulated, and that is too often unpaid or poorly paid. Invisible labor is often performed by people who belong to marginalized groups, including migrants and refugees, women, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming individuals, people of color, and people of lower socioeconomic status. Those who perform invisible labor are further marginalized by the sheer fact that their work isn’t seen, properly compensated, or acknowledged. In its many forms, hidden labor has ripple effects: much of what we consume every day — the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the content we watch and read — is made available to us through time, energy, and often backbreaking labor of unidentified individuals we will never meet.
The artists in Labor of Love strive to tell stories that have been purposefully hidden. In doing so, they reveal problematic aspects of our public narratives and confront issues of systemic racism, immigration, class inequality, and gender discrimination. Collectively, they believe that to ameliorate the burdens of invisible labor, labor must be made visible; only then can its inequities be addressed. Their actions endeavor to reveal what has been kept out of sight and to celebrate, acknowledge, and empower the individuals and groups whose stories they have chosen to tell.
Featured Artists: Tania Candiani, Tannaz Farsi, Jay Lynn Gomez, Midori Hirose, Charlene Liu, Alberto Lule, Narsiso Martinez, and Patrick Martinez
Labor of Love is curated by Alexandra Terry, Curator of Contemporary Art, New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe. Support for this exhibition is provided by The Ford Family Foundation, the Richard and Helen Phillips Charitable Fund and the Exhibition Circle.
_______
Join in a conversation with Narsiso Martinez on April 9 at 2:30 p.m., whose work is in the exhibition Labor of Love. Martinez and Estela Garzón, JSMA at PSU Gallery Coordinator, will discuss the artist's practice, which sheds light on the labor-intensive work of farmworkers in America, specifically those who have migrated from Central and South America to work in agriculture. Drawing on his personal experiences as a farmworker, Martinez raises questions about labor, racial economics, and fair compensation. RSVP here: https://bit.ly/narsisomartinezconvo
_______
Exhibition Tour led by JSMA staff covering highlights will be held on:
- April 6 RSVP: forms.gle/84hqvE62AtaVRr2b9