In 1989, scholar and theorist Dr. Tomás Ybarra-Frausto coined the term “rasquachismo” in an essay for an exhibition organized by the Chicano artist group and gallery MARS (Movimento Artístico del Río Salado) Artspace in Phoenix, Arizona. “Rasquachismo: A Chicano Sensibility” wryly reclaimed the term “rasquache,” slang for low-class or bad taste, and positioned it within a new academic and artistic context. His text defined and intellectualized an often-dismissed cultural style familiar to many on both sides of the United States-Mexico border. Ybarra-Frausto emphasized its underdog sensibility, born out of necessity and therefore rooted in resourcefulness and resilience, but also celebratory and flamboyant. His influential essay has since become a foundational reference for artists and scholars working at the intersections of class, representation, and survival.

This exhibition features the work of artists that engage with a range of rasquache themes and ideas. Some adopt an aesthetic of assemblage and found objects, transforming ordinary items and demonstrating creative reuse. Others possess an ethos of defiance and nonconformity, what Ybarra-Frausto calls the “good taste of bad taste.” Many artists reference more colorful and expressive folk and traditional art forms, while some utilize a minimal or conceptual approach. However, despite a range of aesthetic approaches and individual concerns, artists in this exhibition are connected by their exuberance, inventiveness, and embrace of hybridity. They exemplify the ethos of rasquachismo, disrupting preconceived notions of identity and offering new perspectives on visual culture and everyday life.