Cheech Marin’s Riverside Museum of Art gets its first work of art – a 26-foot-tall piece – Press Enterprise

There are still several weeks until a new museum specializing in Chicano art opens in downtown Riverside, but the center now has its first work of art.

And it’s huge.

When visitors walk through the front door of the Riverside Art Museum’s Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, named after Cheech Marin of Cheech & Chong, they immediately see a tall, colorful image of an Aztec earth goddess.

“It’s the first thing you see when you walk in here,” said Marin, who was in town on Tuesday, April 26, to view the artwork — which spans 26 feet from the ground floor. floor to second level balcony – has been installed.

The work has many images that move as one walks in front of it. Artist Jamex de la Torre, who created the piece with his brother, Einar de la Torre, said the piece carries an urgent message that technology must be used to halt climate change.

“The message is that we have to save our planet,” said Jamex de la Torre.

The San Diego artists’ untitled piece, based on an image of the goddess Coatlicue, arrived Tuesday at the museum that once served as the city’s main library.

The goddess is seen rising from the earth, made of textures of flora and fauna, which can be interpreted as a defense of mother nature, a press release said. As guests move past the LED-backlit room, the image of the goddess “transforms into a Transformer-like robot made up of lowrider cars,” the statement said.

With the approach of the opening on June 18 of the museum known as “The Cheech”, tickets are on sale.

Opening day is sold out, but tickets for tours between June 19 and August 31 can be purchased at Riverside Art Museum website.

Admission will cost $15.95 for adults and $10.95 for older residents, educators, students and children 13-17. One ticket gives access to Cheech and the Riverside Art Museum.

The 61,420 square foot center will house hundreds of paintings, drawings, photographs and sculptures by artists such as Carlos Almaraz, Judithe Hernández, Gilbert “Magú” Luján, Sandy Rodriguez, Frank Romero, Patssi Valdez and the de la Torre brothers. , says a press release.

Starting June 18, the Riverside Art Museum and the new museum will be open Monday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be longer hours on Thursdays, when both are open until 8 p.m.

The Cheech is at 3581 Mission Inn Ave., while the Riverside Art Museum is at 3425 Mission Inn Ave. Paid street and lot parking is available along Mission Inn Avenue.

Information: riversideartmuseum.org/get-tickets