Gestures of Care

Ana Treviño and Chantal Lesley open Gestures of Care at ICOSA Gallery on Friday, August 14, with a reception from 7 to 10 PM. The show runs through September 12, and the two artists approach motherhood not as a fixed identity, but as a set of actions, relationships, and responsibilities that change over time. They work across photography, video, collage, textiles, and sculpture, so you'll see a few different mediums in one room.

Treviño draws on her own experience as a mother and her ancestral connection to Olmec and Aztec civilizations. She uses 3D scanning of her own body to create contemporary fertility figures, and she's made a macramé hammock from her son's clothing. Her work centers on cultural narratives and the U.S./Mexico border, and she teaches studio art at Texas State University.

Lesley is an Austin-based first-generation American from the Rio Grande Valley, born to Peruvian and German immigrants. She looks at the maternal through lived acts of care that go beyond parenthood. She collaborated with children ages four to nine, and their photographs and flower-drawings become elements of her collages and hand-sewn fabric compositions. Together, they frame care as an intimate practice and a cultural force expressed through attention, reciprocity, and responsibility.

Beyond the opening, there are a couple more dates to keep in mind: an artist talk on September 5 at 2 PM, and an Open Canopy closing reception on September 11 from 7 to 10 PM. The gallery is at 916 Springdale Rd, Bldg 2, #102, and it's open Fridays and Saturdays from 12 to 6 PM, and by appointment otherwise.