Chicanx Latinx Art and Artists: Week 3: Carmen León

Carmen León(pictured on the right) is a Mexican and Peruvian painter and sculptor from San Francisco, California. Before earning her bachelor's degree in art at the University of California, Santa Cruz she had the opportunity to study abroad at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, gaining confidence in herself as an artist and embracing new cultures. Upon graduating in 1975, Leon decided to pursue a degree in painting that she completed in 1976, and then moved onto working with the Academia del Arte Chicano de Atzlan painting murals in Watsonville. After graduating, she began teaching elementary and junior high school students about painting and drawing, especially mural painting, through the Cultural Council of Santa Cruz. In 1992, she co-founded Galeria Tonantzin in San Juan Bautista as a center for women's art. Now she lives in Aptos with her husband and continues to paint and craft sculptures.

Her narrative painting draws inspiration from her years of working in Hospice and her travels to her parent’s hometowns of Arequipa, Peru and Michoacán, Mexico. She believes that art can create a bridge for individuals to connect with cultures besides their own. As a Latina, she is inspired by the art made by her ancestors and wants to continue to create a space for Chicanx artists to thrive. She tells young artists to not be overcome by the challenges of life and to continue creating art if that is what they are most passionate about.

As a collaborator on “The Califas Legacy Project: The Ancestral Journey”, on display at the Monterey Museum of Art until April 2021, she contributed to a hand-painted moveable mural that moves like an accordion. This multi-dimensional project aims to display the intersectionality between the different heritages of the four artists who are Mexican-American, Chicanx, Peruvian, and Indigenous.