ELSA MUÑOZ

Elsa Muñoz, a trained oil painter, has been commissioned to create two new works: the first piece is part of the artist’s signature “controlled burn” series, presented alongside a painted nocturnal seascape—in the first the embers seem to move and froth in the wind, while her night ocean glows with red undertones. Her paintings of the sea are imbued with the magic, mystery and expansiveness of the ocean– a site of healing and connection to our past and to each other.

Drawing upon a potent childhood memory of encountering a charred post-burn landscape, the Controlled Burn series depicts realistic forest landscapes in the process of receiving prescribed fire. Controlled burning—also called prescribed fire or “good fire”—is an indigenous practice in which fire is used to maintain the health of a forest, namely by reducing the risk of wildfires, eliminating invasive plant species, and returning nutrients to the soil. The work calls attention to the practice of controlled burning as Indigenous technology that would have largely prevented the devastating wildfires we’ve seen in recent history, emphasizing the need to center Indigenous peoples and knowledge in all land stewardship efforts. Muñoz also speaks about her work in terms of the legacies of curanderismo, or Mexican folk medicine and healing. Her works centers intuitive ways of knowing and artmaking as akin to healing technology and processes. She centers the concept of desahogamiento literally translated as “the act or process of undrowning” – and her paintings are manifestations of this process.

Elsa Muñoz (b. 1983) is a Mexican American artist born and raised on the South Side of Chicago (1983). Muñoz credits her interest in both nature and healing to her experience growing up in an underserved and often unsafe community with little access to green spaces. Having to spend most of her childhood indoors led to the cultivation of a rich inner world in which she was able to find beauty and sanctuary. Her work explores the threads connecting ecology, culture and spirituality.

Elsa received her BFA in oil painting from the American Academy of Art in 2006. She's since had 11 solo shows including one at the National Museum of Mexican Art (2011) and at the Union League Club of Chicago (2016) along with several group shows throughout the United States. She was recently awarded a SPARK Grant from the Chicago Artists Coalition (2022) and was the recipient of the Helen and Tim Meier Foundation for The Arts Achievement Award (2019). Notable collections include the National Museum of Mexican Art (Chicago), North Park University (Chicago), and the private collection of Martin Castro, Chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights under President Barack Obama.