Carrillo’s paintings re-envision the history of art through the heightened Chicano consciousness of his generation and the richness of his bicultural roots.
by Elaine O’Brien (Hyperallergic magazine, September 18, 2018)
SACRAMENTO —
Testament of the Spirit, a monographic survey at the Crocker Art Museum,
makes a convincing argument that the painter Eduardo Carrillo, who died in 1997, deserves
broader recognition for taking Chicano art beyond the borders of identity.
The sensual force of Carrillo’s ripe forms, in rich tones of ochre and ultramarine, with dramatic chiaroscuro effects and otherworldly illumination, alerts viewers to his prodigious talent. But the artist’s contemporary relevance lies in the wide, cosmopolitan range of art historical sources that he seamlessly integrated into his visual narratives. At once epic and intimate, Carillo’s subjects interweave the personal, political, philosophical, and religious. This is the work of a worldly artist-seeker who brought all that he loved to his art.