“Untitled” by Nivia Gonzalez Postcard
$1.00
Nivia Gonzalez, Untitled, 1985-95. Acrylic on canvas. Gift of Regina Antelo-Gonzalez and Selena Antelo-Gonzalez, 2023.1. © Estate of Nivia Gonzalez
4″ x 6″
Description
Nivia Gonzalez was a San Antonio native, well known for providing cover art for books by Sandra Cisneros and Alice Walker. Described by family as an “everywhere artist,” Gonzalez’s work could be found all over the city, from restaurants, to museums, to the Bexar County Jail, where she organized an inmate-led mural project for the Pope’s visit in 1987 while serving as the Bexar County Jail Arts Program director.
This untitled work invites the viewer into an interior with a tabletop ofrenda (devotional offering), presided over by a serene Virgin of the Guadalupe and a crescent moon outside. At once vibrant and tranquil, mysterious and familiar, Gonzalez’s work reverberates with quiet but powerful symbolism.
