Real Art Ways Presents Solo Exhibition of HAS Alumnus

El Discos Es Cultura, the latest exhibition of Hartford Art School alumnus Adrian Martinez Chavez will debut at Real Art Ways, from Sept. 21 – Dec. 10. This solo exhibition will feature photography paired with audio recordings and music that weaves in Chavez’s perspective on his family’s restaurant in Hartford.  

Chavez received his BFA from the Hartford Art School and an MFA from the Yale School of Art.  

As an artist, Chavez works in photography, audio, video, and filmmaking, and draws inspiration from his family’s history and immigrant experience. For years, Chavez has photographed his father in the restaurant he opened after a decade of working in the food industry. His latest exhibition emphasizes the invisible labor of his father and “thousands, if not millions, of other immigrants that contribute to the food industry on a daily basis.”

The exhibition will focus on the experience of Mexican culture in the Northeast of the United States and combines themes of celebration, migration, and assimilation (or lack thereof) with the sounds and images of Chavez’s family’s restaurant, Monte Alban Restaurant. Audio of the kitchen, and music his father would be listening to while working, accompany the exhibition, creating a more immersive and intimate experience of daily life in America.   

Chavez’s work has been exhibited regionally and nationally and can be found in public and private collections such as the University of Hartford’s Goldfarb Memorial Collection. His numerous grants and awards include the Real Art Award, as well as recognition from the Connecticut Office of the Arts, the Greater Hartford Arts Council, the New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Houston Center for Photography.   

Real Art Ways is a 47-year-old multi-disciplinary arts organization with programs in visual art, live arts, cinema, and education. The organization is now one of the country’s best-respected contemporary art spaces, with support for artists and connections with the community as core values. Real Art Ways has presented 43 MacArthur Genius grantees, more than any other arts organization in the United States.

Chavez’s El Disco Es Cultura is on view from Sept. 21 – Dec. 10, at 56 Arbor Street, Hartford, and admission is free.