Chicago artists honor memories with new ofrenda exhibition

The National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen has opened its 40th annual exhibition of ofrendas and art made as remembrance. Titled “Where Memory Lives: 40 Years of Día de Muertos,” the show runs through Nov. 29. The collection features altars constructed by local artists to honor specific individuals or broader cultural themes.

Chief curator Cesáreo Moreno noted the shifting public perception of the holiday. While teachers in the 1990s questioned if the exhibit was appropriate for children due to the word “dead,” the observance has since gained widespread commercial footing. Retailers including Target, Walmart, and Kohl’s now stock dedicated Día de Muertos sections. Amazon sells materials for building altars, and Lego offers a set featuring an ofrenda and a sugar skull.

Moreno acknowledged the impact of the 2017 Pixar film “Coco” on public awareness. “Since Disney gave its blessing, the truth is we are now also wrestling with a post-‘Coco’ holiday,” he said. His primary concern is the holiday blending with Halloween, potentially diluting its spiritual aspect into a commercial sale similar to Christmas and Easter.

The museum has played a key role in popularizing the tradition in the Midwest since 1987. Carina Yepez, a Pilsen resident and textile artist, learned about ofrendas at 19 while working as a tour guide for the institution. She now builds altars year-round in her home. “We are so conditioned to grieve on our own and not encouraged to mention death; this opens a space to talk about life and grief,” Yepez said.

Brookes Ebetsch, executive director of the Chicago Artists Coalition, created an ofrenda for Gilberto Cárdenas, who died in late July. Cárdenas founded the Latino Studies department at the University of Notre Dame and helped create the National Museum of the American Latino. The altar includes a Smith Corona typewriter, Peet’s coffee cups, and Biscoff cookies. Placards list the organizations he influenced. “You may wonder why there’s a laundry list of accomplishments on his ofrenda,” Ebetsch said, “but it’s not ‘Look at what he did.’ It’s ‘Here’s who was influenced by him.’”

Artist CHema Skandal! constructed a minimalist altar for his father, Don Chema, who died in January at 76. The centerpiece is a portrait drawn with ink and ground coffee, referencing the family’s roots in Puebla. The piece is backed by a petate, a traditional handwoven sleeping mat from his father’s village. “This one came from his village,” the artist said. He included 76 coffee beans to represent the years his father lived.

David Rios, a glass artist, built a triptych of altars entirely from glass and 24-karat gold. The work serves as an homage to those who survive or do not survive border crossings on foot. The display includes a glass Virgin, marigolds shaped like eternal flames, and a red basket containing fruits. Rios began working in glass factories in Europe at age 12, skipping college to learn the trade.

The exhibit also features a traditional altar created in collaboration between Oaxacan artist Demetrio García Aguilar and his mother, Josefina Aguilar, who died in February at 80. The piece is a burst of yellow-orange cempasuchil flowers, candles, breads, and foods. The arrangement curls upward into a structure of fruit and flowers, representing a gate for the dead.