The Capital City Arts Initiative’s exhibition, Two Views, presents different approaches to individual expression through drawings by Robert Ibarra and ceramics by Cesar Piedra. The exhibition runs at the Courthouse Gallery through May 25. The Courthouse is located at 885 E Musser St., the gallery is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Piedra is a child of Mexican immigrants. This status as a first-generation individual can be filled with political, cultural, and historic conflict that often manifests itself as an identity crisis. This internal clash informs how he communicates through his art practice, and helps elicit a conversation about the existence of those caught in the in-between. Through his art, he seeks a visual language that connects both his Mexican and American heritages. These two identities often combine to create a third, that is not solely one or the other, rather an amalgamation of the two. Piedra is an interdisciplinary artist, born in Southern California and raised in Northern Nevada. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in ceramics and a minor in art history at the University of Nevada, Reno in 2021. Ibarra's work involves self-portraiture where he investigates emotions tied to his personal experiences. Vivian Zavataro wrote the essay for the Two Views exhibition. Zavataro is the director and chief curator of The Lilley Museum of Art, at the University of Nevada, Reno. She is a museologist who specializes in contemporary art, history, and art mediation. Carlos Ramirez, a Western Nevada College Latino Leadership Academy student, provided a Spanish language translation of the show’s wall text. For information, visit CCAI’s website at www.ccainv.org.
