LEXINGTON, VA — Washington and Lee University’s Staniar Gallery is pleased to announce Tijuacolor, a solo exhibition by artist Hugo Crosthwaite, on view from April 28 to May 30, 2025. Crosthwaite will give a public talk on Monday, May 12 at 5:30 p.m. in the Concert Hall of Wilson Hall. A reception will follow. All events are free and open to the public.
From April 28 to May 10, Crosthwaite will create a mural in the gallery. This improvisational work explores themes of borders and immigration through a layered visual style that blends portraiture, comic book imagery, urban signage, and mythology. Throughout Crosthwaite’s live performance, visitors are welcome to observe the mural as it unfolds directly on the gallery walls. The gallery is open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Tijuacolor is Crosthwaite’s invented compound word fusing “Tijuana” and “color,” referencing TV and film branding concepts such as “technicolor” or “in full color.” The mural and exhibition promise a visually exciting narrative that reflects on issues such as immigration, gentrification, transculturation, and violence. In keeping with the artist’s concept of impermanence and the ephemeral nature of border regions, the mural will be painted over at the end of the exhibition following the artist’s instructions.
Born in Tijuana in 1971, Crosthwaite grew up in Rosarito, Baja California, 10 miles south of the international border. In 2019, he won First Prize in the Smithsonian’s Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition and later was commissioned to create a stop-motion portrait of Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, which debuted at the National Portrait Gallery in 2021. His work is included in major museum collections, including the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the San Diego Museum of Art, the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, and the FEMSA Collection in Mexico City. He is represented by Luis De Jesus Los Angeles.
Tijuacolor is curated by Andrea Lepage, Pamela H. Simpson Professor of Art History at Washington and Lee University. The exhibition is supported by the Department of Art & Art History, the Department of History, the Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program, and the Class of ’63 Scholars-in-Residence Program.
Staniar Gallery is located on the second floor of Wilson Hall, in Washington and Lee University’s Lenfest Center for the Arts. When campus is open to the public, gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information, call 540-458-8861.
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