[exhibit] The Euphoric Dance of the Unconquered Mind // SF
Please save the date for the solo show of Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo.
Oil Paintings of Mexika (Aztec) Dancers from the SF Bay Area
Opening reception: Saturday, February 4, 2023 from 6pm-9pm
Medicine for Nightmares Bookstore & Art Gallery
3036 24th St, San Francisco, CA
Open daily: 12pm-8pm
(open until 10pm Thurs. – Sat.).
20 paintings from this series will be on view in San Francisco, CA from February 4 – March 18, 2023.
View artwork from The Euphoric Dance of the Unconquered Mind at: http://ejmontelongo.com/euphoricdance
About artist:
Grateful for the support of great people, who give me opportunities to share my art and poetry with the community. 
Thankful for people who appreciate and collect my artwork and help keep my projects going 
. http://ejmontelongo.com
Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo first encountered traditional Mexika dance in San José, California. In 2007, she began to practice with a local calpulli and dance at ceremonies.
She completed an intensive university course in classical Nahuatl, which included an introduction to understanding the glyph art found in Indigenous Mesoamerican hand-painted books.
In 2010, Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo began painting Mexika dancers in a series of oil paintings on canvas, simultaneously working on a series of mixed-media paintings on wood, inspired by Mesoamerican philosophy and glyphs.The Euphoric Dance of the Unconquered Mind features textured oil paintings of Mexika dancers that exude movement, energy, and power to celebrate the continued tradition of Indigenous dance ceremony.
To create the work, Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo crops and combines her own photographs of dancers in movement and renders the composition on canvas, applying paint with a palette knife for a thick impasto. This work is based on Mexika dancers from the San Francisco Bay Area, in acknowledgment of the living culture-keepers who preserve and practice Indigenous traditions in the 21st century, across social and political borders. The vibrantly colored paintings celebrate mental liberation and honor our Indigenous ancestors.
Esta serie llamada La Danza euphórica de la mente insumisa, esta compuesta de obras de danzantes Mexika en oléo sobre tela. Los danzantes celebran la energía, poder, y libertad que llevamos todos por dentro. Las imagenes estan basadas en fotografías que tomé de danzantes en la aréa de la bahía de San Francisco. La superficie de estas obras tienen una guresa textura impasto ya que las pinto con cuchillo.
 VIDEO: El Placazo – San Anto Cultural Arts on-site at Centro de Artes Gallery |  VIDEO: NBC Comunidad del Valle with Damian Trujillo English / Español |
