The artists in this show create work that explores their heritage and ancestry.

By sifting through their cultural traditions these artists find grounding in the roots of their identities.

Please contact Gallery@makeshiftartspace.org
for all sales inquires and/or to schedule an appointment for in-person viewing of the show.

Nico Inzerella

Nico Inzerella
**“Hidalgo”**
*Wheatpaste on wood panel. Block Print, oil, latex*
30" x 26"
Original photo taken in Dolores Hidalgo, Mexico
$400

Nico Inzerella
**“Red Fox”**
*Gomuban Block with red water-based printmaking ink. On "Vintage" writing paper in an 8x10 black frame.*
8 x 10"
$50

Artist Statement:
I'm a Mexican-American/ Jewish American Artist. Preserving my family culture is important to me and I do this through my artwork. My family has been in the US (California and Washington) for 4-5 generations. The first small chunk of my life I grew up in Ventura, California but my family moved up to the Seattle area in the early 1980's. We moved to a small town named Carnation, a community built of farmers and loggers.. It wasn't until college in Bellingham where I grew and started to find myself. After college, I moved to Mexico for 6 months and after that I started to identify as Mexican-American or Chicano. Although I'm not fluent in Spanish I connected with my culture through my art. I started getting into art in high school because my mom was an Arts and Crafts instructor and I used to get into her craft supplies. In college, I initially wanted to major in Painting but I ended up majoring in Graphic Design with an emphasis on New Media (web/ video). Today I am a web developer for Seattle Colleges (North Seattle, Seattle Central and South Seattle Colleges) and I also teach printmaking/ multimedia classes at North Seattle College through Continuing Education. Over the past 20 years I've traveled extensively throughout Mexico and Central America taking thousands of photos. I combine photography, painting, and graphic design to create my final pieces.

Artist Bio:
Nico Inzerella is a Mexican-American/ Jewish-American multimedia artist, born and raised between Southern California and Seattle by a single parent. The themes and images of Nico’s art often reflect Indigenous life and immigration throughout the Americas. He received his B.F.A. from Western Washington University - School or Art. He is a faculty art instructor at North Seattle College through their Continuing Education program. He is also a full-time web developer for the college. His art has been exhibited throughout Washington State and has art on permanent collection with the City of Seattle, Daybreak Star Cultural Center, ArtsWa, RACC City of Portland (Oregon), and the City of Shoreline. He has been recognized by Crosscut Magazine, Schack Art Gallery and Columbia City Gallery. Nico spent a year in Latin America, primarily Mexico, researching fine art, street art, printmaking and artisan crafts.

http://nicoidesign.com/

J D Trejo-Maya

J D Trejo-Maya
**“Oxomoco ”**
*Plastic transparency*
8.5 x 11
$77.77
2020

J D Trejo-Maya
**“Tonatiuh”**
*Plastic transparency*
8.5 x 11
$77.77
2020

J D Trejo-Maya
**“Uixticihuatl”**
*Plastic transparency*
8.5 x 11
$77.77
2020

Artist statement/bio:

He is a remnant of the Nahuatlacah oral tradition a tonalpouhque mexica, a commoner from the lowlands from a time and place that no longer exists. Born in Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico, where he spent his childhood in the small rural pueblo of Tarimoró and wherefrom he immigrated in 1988. His inspirations include Netzahualcoyotl, Humberto Ak’abal, Ray A. Young Bear, James Welch and Juan Rulfo. Published in various journals/sites in the UK, US, Spain, India, Australia, Argentina, Germany and Venezuela. Pushcart Prize nominee in 2015; awarded Tercer Premio from El Centro Canario Estudios Caribeños – El Atlántico – en el Certamen Internacional de Poesía “La calle que tú me das” 2016. New Rivers Press Many Voices Project Finalist 2018, 2020 Jack Straw Writers Fellow, Exhibitions at Amador County Arts Council, Museum of Dead Words, Main Street Arts, amongst others. While in ceremony with Chololo medicine men in the Tule River Reservation he dreamt this written prophecy…

Macie Matthews

Artist Statement/bio:

I focus on the continuous dialogue between the past and the present through the coexistence of intergenerational communities within Japanese-American culture. I’ve felt separate from both identities, American and Asian, whether it be in student clubs, classes, or demographic surveys. My work has been influenced by my studies in Japan where I was able to explore the other half of my heritage, knowledge which had been mediated by Americanized appropriation. My fascination with Japanese society stems from my newfound understanding of the complexities within myself; through my practice I can further explore who I am -- as an individual, as part of a community, and as part of my culture as a whole.

Social Media/ Website:

IG: @maciematthewsstudio

Tiktok: @mmillustrated

Website: www.maciematthews.com

Olalekan Oyewole

Olalekan Oyewole
**“Reminiscence: 1”**
*Canvas, Rubber Gum, Silk Thread.*
20'' by 31''
2014.
$250,000

Olalekan Oyewole.
**“Reminiscence: 2”**
Rubber Gum,Silk Thread,canvas.
22'' by 26''
2016
$300,000

Olalekan Oyewole.
**“Beach House”**
Rubber Gum, Silk Threads, Canvas.
26'' by 36''
2014.
$244,000

Artist Statement:

I create the past. The receding glorious past of Africa its people and their way of life.

I am particularly awed by its landscape, the colorful mountains, the lush vegetation to the tropical west, the semi-arid and the arid regions of the Sahara, the beauty and diversity of its culture, the rotund thatched mud huts, the quite slow-moving streams, and the rapid waterfalls.

Artist Bio:

I am a self-taught artist. and a proud participant at the 2012 Art And Artifacts Exhibition held at the M.A Odeyemi Museum of Antiquities and Contemporary African Arts, Institute of Cultural Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria.

ROOTED

Nico Inzerella

J D Trejo-Maya

Macie Matthews

Olalekan Oyewole

Make.Shift Art Space