Ohio Goza y Mas

Einar De La Torre, Jamex De La Torre, Ohio Goza y Mas, 2013, blown glass, resin castings, and mixed media, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Todd Wingate and Steven Cason, courtesy of the artists and Koplin Del Rio Gallery, 2021.84
Einar De La Torre, Jamex De La Torre, Ohio Goza y Mas, 2013, blown glass, resin castings, and mixed media, 67 × 67 × 9 in. (170.2 × 170.2 × 22.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Todd Wingate and Steven Cason, courtesy of the artists and Koplin Del Rio Gallery, 2021.84

Artwork Details

Title
Ohio Goza y Mas
Date
2013
Dimensions
67 × 67 × 9 in. (170.2 × 170.2 × 22.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Todd Wingate and Steven Cason, courtesy of the artists and Koplin Del Rio Gallery
Mediums
Mediums Description
blown glass, resin castings, and mixed media
Subjects
  • Figure group
  • Figure — fragment — hand
Object Number
2021.84

Artwork Description

Einar and Jamex de la Torre are brothers and glass artists. They made this wall sculpture after an Aztec calendar, a visual dating system adapted by many ancient Mesoamerican nations. The Spanish title translates to “Ohio Enjoy and More,” and, when pronounced, sounds like “Good Morning” in Japanese. It represents their humor, where the piece was made (Ohio), and their multifaceted view of people and time.


The brothers gather countless motifs into a celebration of blended cultures: Kewpie dolls, with surprising objects in their bellies, invented in the early twentieth century by American Rose O’Neill and popularized in Japan; Mano poderosa (the all-powerful hand) from Mexican Catholic devotional imagery; sonrientes (grinning figures) from Mesoamerican ceramics; and golden tumis, ceremonial knives with semicircular blades, from the ancient Andean Moche culture. Casts of butterflies and insects symbolize transformation and migration. 

This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022

Works by this artist (2 items)

Robert Havell, Jr., Panoramic View of New York, 1844, hand-colored aquatint on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of International Business Machines Corporation, 1966.48.77
Panoramic View of New York
Date1844
hand-colored aquatint on paper
Not on view
John James Audubon, Robert Havell, Jr., Frigate Pelican, from the book Birds of America, 1835, hand-colored engraving and aquatint on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Robert Tyler Davis Memorial Fund, 1980.91
Frigate Pelican, from the book Birds of America
Date1835
hand-colored engraving and aquatint on paper
Not on view

Exhibitions

Quilt featuring the portrait of a woman
This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World
May 13, 2022April 2, 2023
This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World showcases the dynamic landscape of American craft today.

More Artworks from the Collection

Claire Falkenstein, City is Man, 1941-1952, linocut, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.14, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
City is Man
Date1941-1952
linocut
Not on view
Claire Falkenstein, Untitled, 1976, embossed paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.18, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
Untitled
Date1976
embossed paper
Not on view
Claire Falkenstein, Mandala, 1977, lithograph, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of The Falkenstein Foundation, 2019.27.19, ©1997, The Falkenstein Foundation
Mandala
Date1977
lithograph
Not on view
Les Quais de la Seine a Paris
Date1917
hand-colored etching on postcard
Not on view