Gloria Osuna Perez (November 21, 1947 - June 25, 1999) was a

Chicana 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 iden ...

artist. She had a pottery line, but is best known for her paintings. Her work is part of the permanent collection of the El Paso Museum of Art.

Biography

Osuna Perez was born in Madera, California on November 21, 1947. Her parents were

migrant farm workers A migrant worker is a person who migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant workers who work outsi ...

and Osuna Perez also worked in

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...

fields picking fruit. She moved to

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

in 1985. Before she returned to painting, Osuna Perez worked on a Mexican

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...

line, called Pottery En Español. Not long after moving to El Paso, she began painting again. Osuna Perez was the featured artist in ''

Latina Magazine ''Latina'' was an American lifestyle, entertainment, beauty and fashion magazine for bilingual Hispanic women published in English by Latina Media Ventures. In May 2010, Latina Media Ventures named editorial director Galina Espinoza and publisher ...

'' in 1996. That same year, she also debuted her " Coyolxauhqui Madre Cosmia" exhibit at the El Paso Museum of Art. In 1996, Osuna Perez was told that she had six months to live after being diagnosed with

ovarian cancer Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...

. and She made her own funeral urn. and She created several urns, "representing continuous faith," according to the '' El Paso Times''. Creating the urns helped her stay positive in the face of the cancer diagnosis. Osuna Perez died on June 25, 1999. A memorial fund in her name supports art education at the El Paso Museum of Art. Osuna Perez was inducted into the

El Paso Women's Hall of Fame The El Paso Women's Hall of Fame honors and recognizes the accomplishments of El Paso women. It is sponsored by the El Paso Commission for Women and was established in 1985. The first inductees were honored in 1990. Inductees are women who live in ...

in 2001. In 2008, her work was displayed at the National Museum of Mexican Art.

Work

Osuna Perez often used

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

people as subjects for her art. She also painted the daily routines and lives of people. One of Osuna Perez's last works was three

illustration An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vid ...

s for the book, ''Little Gold Star/Estrellita de Oro''. Her daughter, Lucia Angela Perez, helped finish the illustrations for the book. The '' Austin Chronicle'' called the illustrations by mother and daughter "vibrant."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osuna Perez, Gloria 1947 births 1999 deaths Artists from El Paso, Texas 20th-century American women artists 20th-century American people