Frank Romero
American, b. 1941
Chicano Iconography, 1992
Mixografia^® monoprint on handmade paper
_{© 1992 Frank Romero}

On a four-by-four grid, various forms evocative of the American Southwest and Mexican art are neatly arranged. Embossed in thick paper, they are displayed on a blue background, modulated by the woodgrain from which it was printed. This expansive blue field evokes the sky, or water. These symbols pay homage to carved friezes found in Aztec or Mayan temples such as Chichén Itzá. Frank Romero seems to show us the shapes and colors that float in his artistic dreams. As part of a group named Los Four, Romero was one of the first artists during the Chicano Movement to give form and visibility to his mixed cultural heritage.