OPENING: The de la Torre brothers take over Traver Gallery Thursday night

Einar and Jamex de la Torre, Nopalesque, 2012. Blown glass and mixed media. courtesy: Traver Gallery

A melted motley conglomerate of characters which includes, for starters, a pair of elk, a set of miniature toy cars, and a multicolored Hindu goddess, will be unveiled to the public under the title of “Microcosmos” at the Traver Gallery in Seattle on Thursday, September 5th. These images, among many others, can be credited to the laborious workmanship and the provocative visions of glass artists Einar and Jamex de la Torre. The Mexican-born siblings seek to create pieces rich with contradictions by incorporating a miscellaneous plethora of both image and material. While their work may initially seem chaotic, there is certainly an ambitious method behind the madness. The de la Torres intend to shed light on the political and social conflicts embedded in the tense relationship between America and Mexico and the former’s domineering influence in shaping personal identities. Their work serves as more than simply an aesthetic overload but as a platform to expand and explore established notions of race, culture, and stereotypes.

Einar and Jamex de la Torre, Blue Bacchus, 2012. Blown glass and mixed media. courtesy: Traver Gallery

The artists provide a vast canvas of thought-provoking symbolism, ranging from contemporary themes of fast food and Pee-Wee Herman to more traditional-based references of Catholicism and religious Aztec ideals. The tone of the pieces, which are hyperbolic sometimes to the point of vulgarity, are a reference to the rapid and overpowering commercialization of modern society. In using these dramatic contrasts, the de la Torres strive to displace a similar contradictory response in their audience, to bestow feelings of both curiosity and repulsion, the desire to simultaneously keep watching and to look away.

The de la Torre brothers’ emphasis on binaries also alludes to a more tangible and personal conflict of living on different sides of the Mexican-American border, since both artists divide their time between the two countries. The artists have enjoyed praises both on a national and international level, and their work can currently be viewed at the San Jose Museum of Art and the Chrysler Museum of Art this upcoming fall.

—Madeleine Harrington