LANGORIA, Jimmy

Paintings

Artist Statement

Art is a universal language. No matter our origins, our nurture, or current circumstances, through art we communicate in a common voice. These pieces speak in a Hispano/Latino/Indigeno accent to everyone about esperanza – hope, honor, and humanity. The viewer is invited into a warm conversation about our universal commonality.

The subject matter of the pieces is Strong Women. We live in a time when women are finally recognized as strong and powerful leaders. In my large and extended family, I have always admired the women who held together families, who suffered racism and cultural abuse, and still kept feeding our souls with esperanza.

I hope the viewer will take hope and courage from these dynamic images.

Artist Bio

Jimmy Longoria is the only Chicano/Latino/Hispanic to be awarded a Bush Foundation Artist Fellowship in Fine Art, and he is the only Minnesotan to have art in the permanent collection of Chicago’s National Museum of Mexican Art, the largest collection of Mexican Art outside Mexico. Jimmy’s art was chosen by Target Corporation to represent all of Hispanic Art for the 25th anniversary symposium of the Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility, a national gathering of influential Hispanic leaders, government officials, and Fortune 100 corporate executives. Jimmy is the only artist to receive the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Living the Dream” Award.

Jimmy studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif., learning from masters of art, such as Rufino Tamayo and Jose Luis Cuevas. While developing his understanding of modern and contemporary art he forged his own vision of giving back to the community as a central canon of Chicano art.

You will currently find Jimmy’s art hanging in the offices of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, actor and Chicano Art collector Cheech Marin, and prominent state Senators at the Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul. His mission-laden paintings are well suited to the dynamic executive leader’s office as a focal point call-to-action.