Artist

Rupert García

born French Camp, CA 1941
Also known as
  • Marshall R. Garcia
  • Rupert Garcia
Born
French Camp, California, United States
Active in
  • Oakland, California, United States
Biography

Rupert García came from a family active in the creation and instruction of folk arts and traditions. After completing his service in the U.S. Air Force in Indochina, García attended the San Francisco School for the Arts on the G.I. Bill. As his education in art intensified so did his interest in politics. He joined Latino and minority movements in the Bay area protesting the disproportionate number of these groups being sent into battle in Southeast Asia.

García has proven himself to be not only one of the most important artists of the last twenty-five years, but an important political force as well. Much of his work has dealt with issues of racism and the mistreatment of Latinos in the United States. His style is direct and powerful; he seeks to be both forceful and readily accessible to a wide audience. Keeping these goals in mind, both García's graphic art and paintings display a skillful unification of the Mexican tradition of Rivera, Siqueiros and Orozco, with elements learned from European artists and those of the American Pop art movement. García's art has evolved stylistically throughout his career, but he has constantly maintained a strong balance of graphic and "fine art."

García has also played an important role in Latino art scholarship. He holds two M.A. degrees—one in studio art and the other in art history. He is the author of an important thesis on California Chicano Muralists and has published essays on a number of different subjects including the work of Frida Kahlo. García's continuing legacy constantly addresses the most important issues of contemporary society, both thematically and stylistically.

Therese Thau Heyman Posters American Style (New York and Washington, D.C.: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., in association with the National Museum of American Art, 1998)

Works by this artist (42 items)

Rupert García, False Promises/Nos Enganaron, 1976, offset lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift from the Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art (Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Gerald D. Kohs), 2020.20.85, © 1976, Rupert García
False Promises/​Nos Enganaron
Date1976
offset lithograph
Not on view
Rupert García, ¡LIBERTAD PARA LOS PRISONEROS POLITICAS!, 1971, screenprint on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Margaret Terrazas Santos Collection, 2019.52.2, © 1971, Rupert García
¡LIBERTAD PARA LOS PRISONEROS POLITICAS!
Date1971
screenprint on paper
Not on view
They’re Coming!
Date1968
screenprint
Not on view
Rupert García, Political Prisoner, 1976, pastel on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Rupert García and Sammi Madison-García, 1978.107, © 1976, Rupert García
Political Prisoner
Date1976
pastel on paper
Not on view

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      Artist Rupert García discusses the rise of the Chicano movement and the political icons who became the inspiration behind his posters. By highlighting individuals engaged in the fight for social justice, García challenges who gets to be represented and examines the relationship he creates between aesthetics and politics. García’s prints were featured in the exhibition ¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now.

      Exhibitions

      Media - 2011.12 - SAAM-2011.12_1 - 77591
      Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art
      October 25, 2013March 2, 2014
      Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art presents the rich and varied contributions of Latino artists in the United States since the mid-twentieth century, when the concept of a collective Latino identity began to emerge.
      Martha Rosler, Red Strip Kitchen
      Artists Respond: American Art and the Vietnam War, 1965 – 1975
      March 15, 2019August 18, 2019
      Artists Respond: American Art and the Vietnam War, 1965-1975 makes vivid an era in which artists endeavored to respond to the turbulent times and openly questioned issues central to American civic life.
      Media - 2012.53.1 - SAAM-2012.53.1_1 - 82036
      ¡Printing the Revolution! The Rise and Impact of Chicano Graphics, 1965 to Now
      November 20, 2020August 8, 2021
      In the 1960s, activist Chicano artists forged a remarkable history of printmaking that remains vital today.

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