Jesus "Chuy" Campusano (1944 – 1997), was an American Chicano visual artist, and muralist. He was a well-known contributor to

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

's arts in the 1970s and 1980s; and was a co-founder of

Galería de la Raza Galería de la Raza (GDLR) is a non-profit art gallery and artist collective founded in 1970, that serves the largely Chicano and Latino population of San Francisco's Mission District. GDLR mounts exhibitions, hosts poetry readings, workshops, a ...

, a non-profit community focused gallery that featured

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

and

Chicano Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...

artists and their allies.

Early life

Jesus "Chuy" Campusano was born on November 21, 1944, in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

; to parents Blasa (or Blaza,

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Uribe) and Andres Campusano from Chihuahua, Mexico. In early life Campusano worked as a

farmworker A farmworker, farmhand or agricultural worker is someone employed for labor in agriculture. In labor law, the term "farmworker" is sometimes used more narrowly, applying only to a hired worker involved in agricultural production, including harv ...

union organizer.

Career and late life

In 1970, Galería de la Raza was founded by artists Campusano,

Ralph Maradiaga Ralph Maradiaga (1934–1985) was an American artist, curator, photographer, printmaker, teacher, and filmmaker. He was Chicano, one of the co-founders of Galería de la Raza and part of the San Francisco Bay Area Chicano Art Movement. Biograp ...

Rupert García Rupert García (born in 1941 in San Joaquin Valley of French Camp, California) is an American Chicano visual artist and professor. He is known as a painter, pastellist, and screen printer. In the 1960s, as a leader, he led a movement against 'Yank ...

Peter Rodríguez Peter Rodríguez (1926 – 2016) was an American artist, curator, and museum director. He was the founder, director and curator of the Mexican Museum in San Francisco, and a co-founder of the Galería de la Raza. Early life Peter Rodríguez w ...

René Yañez René Yañez (19 September 1942 – 29 May 2018) was a Mexican-American painter, assemblage artist, performance artist, curator and community activist located in San Francisco, California. He was a well-known contributor to the arts of San Franc ...

, Francisco X. Camplis, Gustavo Ramos Rivera, Carlos Loarca, Manuel Villamor, Robert Gonzales, Luis Cervantes, and

Rolando Castellón Rolando Castellón, also known as Rolando Dionisio Castellón-Alegria (born 1937) is a Nicaraguan American painter, author, art historian, and curator. He was a well-known contributor to the arts of San Francisco, California and he has lived in C ...

. It was a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...

and

artist collective An artist collective is an initiative that is the result of a group of artists working together, usually under their own management, towards shared aims. The aims of an artist collective can include almost anything that is relevant to the need ...

that featured Latino and Chicano artists in the Mission District of San Francisco. Campusano,

Spain Rodriguez Manuel Rodriguez (March 2, 1940 – November 28, 2012), better known as Spain or Spain Rodriguez, was an American underground cartoonist who created the character Trashman. His experiences on the road with the motorcycle club, the Road Vultures M ...

, Rubén Guzmán, and Bob Cuff painted the Horizons Unlimited murals (exterior and interior) in 1972, at 22nd and Folsom Streets, which was one of the earliest murals in the Mission District. The Horizons Unlimited murals no longer exist.

Emmy Lou Packard Emmy Lou Packard also known as Betty Lou Packard (1914–1998) was a Californian post-war artist known for painting, printmaking and murals. Early life Emmy Lou Packard was born on April 15, 1914, near El Centro, California, to parents Emma an ...

, a

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

era muralist, directed ''Homage To Siqueiros'' (1974), a mural project at

Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank w ...

building in the Mission District, located at

Mission Street Mission Street is a north-south arterial thoroughfare in Daly City and San Francisco, California that runs from Daly City's southern border to San Francisco's northeast waterfront. The street and San Francisco's Mission District through which it r ...

at 23rd Street. Campusano served as the head mural designer on the project working under Packard, and Luis Cortázar and Michael Rios assisted. In the late 1970s, Campusano was a director at the Pacifica Arts and Heritage Council in

Pacifica, California Pacifica ( es, Pacífica, meaning "Peaceful") is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay. Overview The City of Pacifica is spread along a stretch of coastal beaches and hi ...

, where he led the creation of civic-funded art murals in

San Mateo County San Mateo County ( ), officially the County of San Mateo, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 764,442. Redwood City is the county seat, and the third most populated city following Daly ...

. He also worked as a mural artist consultant. Campusano painted a brightly colored mural on the side of the former

Lilli Ann Lilli Ann was a clothing company that was started in San Francisco, California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it ...

building at 2030 Harrison Street (at 17th Street) in the

Mission District The Mission District (Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as The Mission (Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name is ...

in 1986. The mural was painted over in July 1998 (after the artist’s death), which spurred community protests, and a lawsuit. The case was settled for USD $200,000. His work was featured in the noted '' Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation'' traveling group art exhibition in 1990–1993, alongside other major Chicano artists. Campusano died on May 4, 1997, in California. He was survived by his partner Dianne DeMoss, and his two children.

Exhibitions

* 1977, ''Paintings, Drawings and a Mural Presentation by Jesus (Chuy) Campusano'', solo exhibition, Loeb Rhoades Market Hours Gallery on the 8th floor of the

Transamerica Pyramid The Transamerica Pyramid is a 48-story futurist skyscraper in San Francisco, California, United States, and the second tallest building in the San Francisco skyline. Located at 600 Montgomery Street between Clay and Washington Streets in the ci ...

, San Francisco, California * 1986, ''Teotihuacan Fresco Mural Project'', solo exhibition, Mexican Museum, San Francisco, California * 1990–1993, '' Chicano Art: Resistance and Affirmation'', traveling group exhibition, Wight Art Gallery at University of California, Los Angeles;

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern and contemporary art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art, and was ...

;

Fresno Art Museum The Fresno Art Museum is an art museum in Fresno, California. The museum's collection includes contemporary art, modern art, Mexican and Mexican-American art, and Pre-Columbian sculpture. Mission Statement "The Fresno Art Museum offers a dynami ...

;

Tucson Museum of Art , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

;

Denver Art Museum The Denver Art Museum (DAM) is an art museum located in the Civic Center of Denver, Colorado. With encyclopedic collections of more than 70,000 diverse works from across the centuries and world, the DAM is one of the largest art museums between t ...

;

Albuquerque Museum of Art and History The Albuquerque Museum, formerly known as the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, is a public art and history museum in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The museum is located in the Old Town area and is operated by the City of Albuquerque Department of ...

;

National Museum of American Art The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

, Washington, D.C. (now Smithsonian American Art Museum);

Bronx Museum of the Arts The Bronx Museum of the Arts (BxMA), also called the Bronx Museum of Art or simply the Bronx Museum, is an American cultural institution located in Concourse, Bronx, New York. The museum focuses on contemporary and 20th-century works created by A ...

;

El Paso Museum of Art Founded in 1959, The El Paso Museum of Art (EPMA) is located in downtown El Paso, Texas. First accredited in 1972, it is the only accredited art museum within a 250-mile radius and serves approximately 100,000 visitors per year. A new building ...

; and the

San Antonio Museum of Art The San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) is an art museum in Downtown San Antonio, Texas, USA. The museum spans 5,000 years of global culture. The museum is housed in the historic former Lone Star Brewery (1886) on the Museum Reach of the San Antonio ...

References

External links

Interview with Chuy Campusano
(1977) {{DEFAULTSORT:Campusano, Chuy 1944 births 1997 deaths 20th-century American painters American muralists American artists of Mexican descent Artists from El Paso, Texas Artists from San Francisco Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery (Colma, California) Hispanic and Latino American artists People from Pacifica, California Self-taught artists United Farm Workers people

Early life

Career and late life

Exhibitions

See also

References

External links