By Daniel Fulco, Ph.D., Agnita M. Stine Schreiber Curator

In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15-Oct. 15),we hope that you enjoy this print in our collection.

Jorge Tacla (American, b. Chile, 1958)
Tu casa es mi casa (Your House is My House), 2002
Etching and aquatint on paper
19 7/8″h x 17 1/4″w
Collection of Washington County Museum of Fine Arts
Gift of the artist, A4008,04.0312

In Tu casa es mi casa, painter and printmaker Jorge Tacla transports us to a soaring architectural dreamscape, one in which mystery, wonder, and fragmentary memories all converge. Here, we stand on the landing of a grand staircase and look up toward medieval sculptures and a lunette above (reminiscent of those from a Gothic cathedral façade). As our eyes move upward, we observe a vaulted skylight or coffered ceiling that illuminates and casts shadows on the space below. Streaks of red flash across the composition, suggesting light reflected through stained glass that is both disorienting and beautiful at the same time. The blue band of color on the left almost creates an impression of a vision emerging in the sky. To the left and right, the flights of stairs lead to unknown destinations that we are invited to imagine collectively, an element further implied by the print’s wry title. While it remains uncertain, Tacla hints that this space (entirely devoid of people), could have been affected by a catastrophe or shared traumatic experience, two key recurrent themes in his work.

Born in Santiago, Chile, Tacla studied at the School of Fine Arts at the University of Chile and moved to New York City in 1981. Influenced and fascinated by architecture, the urban landscape, nature, and memory, the artist focuses on the transformation and reinvention of space through collective trauma, disaster, or social rupture. In addition to painting and printmaking, Tacla experiments with photography, video, installation media arts, and the performing arts. Previously, he served as a visiting lecturer for the University of Chile, the Pontificia Catholic University of Chile, Hartwick College, Oneonta, New York, the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, and the University at Albany, New York. Currently, Tacla divides his time between New York and Santiago.

To learn more about Tacla’s work, click here: https://jorgetacla.com/ABOUT

This WeekendArt is sponsored by Ms. Martha Williams