Borderwavve

With only a couple of exhibitions under its belt, Presa House Gallery has proven itself as an independent art space worth keeping an eye on. Coming from a decidedly different angle than much of the politically charged, often explicit contemporary art addressing the U.S.-Mexico border, the gallery’s December show “Borderwavve” brings together four artists employing the visual vocabulary of abstraction to “shatter misconceptions and claim their space in the art world, on behalf of la frontera.” A self-taught artist and co-founder of the Tejano band Elida y Avante, Brownsville-born Cande Aguilar, Jr. earned his classification as a “barrio pop artist” via large-scale canvases combining elements of pop culture, graffiti and cartooning. Born in the Mexican state of Coahuila and based in Austin, Gerardo Arellano puts a postmodern spin on border culture via expressionist works riddled with familiar symbols. A “self-informed” painter with an extensive exhibition history, Piedras Negras-born, San Antonio-based artist Jorge Purón draws creative inspiration from life and work on both sides of the border. A self-taught multidisiplinary artist with ties to the forthcoming Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Ciudad Acuña, Aldo Fabian Ramos explores cross-cultural identity through paintings and drawings distinguished by a vivid palette and “collaged visionary symbolism.”