17/10/2026
Jen Tough Gallery is proud to present Tinta y Frontera / Ink & Borders: Two Contemporary Printmakers, an exhibition highlighting the work of artists Pavel Acevedo and Carlos Barberena. The exhibition opens on Saturday, November 7, with an artists' reception from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at the gallery’s Santa Fe location at 4 N Chamisa Drive (Eldorado-Lamy area).
Rooted in the rich graphic traditions of Latin American printmaking, Acevedo (Mexico) and Barberena (Nicaragua) use relief carving, woodcut, and linocut techniques as powerful vehicles for social commentary. Tinta y Frontera brings together works that interrogate the physical and psychological realities of geopolitical borders, the complexities of migration, and the ongoing struggle for Latino and Hispanic civil rights in the United States.
Each artist brings a distinct narrative and visual language to the exhibition:
Pavel Acevedo: Blends traditional Oaxacan iconography with contemporary street art and muralist aesthetics. His intricate prints explore the dualities of the immigrant experience, memory, and cultural adaptation, using animal and human figures to depict transformation and resilience.
Carlos Barberena: A self-taught Nicaraguan printmaker known for masterfully detailed, satirical relief prints that address social inequality, political violence, and corporate exploitation. Barberena repurposes cultural icons and art-historical tropes to critique systemic oppression and honor diaspora communities.
Together, their works honor the lineage of historic graphic resistance, from José Guadalupe Posada to the Taller de Gráfica Popular, while speaking directly to the urgent humanitarian realities of the modern immigration crises.
On view November 7, 2026 to January 31
