Curatorial Statement
Like with any piece of art, when you put a photo out into the world it ceases to belong to you and becomes the world’s. Everyone who experiences it gets to make of it what they want and take their own insights and feel their own feelings about what it is. And so it is with great care that these photos have been selected and presented in the way they are, as some of them are from deep in the intimate and candid archives of Gil’s life. There needed to be room for viewers not only to feel and think what they wanted about each photo, but to also wonder what Gil was feeling and thinking at the time the moment was captured—as a photographer and more importantly as human.
Like with any piece of art, when you put a photo out into the world it ceases to belong to you and becomes the world’s. Everyone who experiences it gets to make of it what they want and take their own insights and feel their own feelings about what it is. And so it is with great care that these photos have been selected and presented in the way they are, as some of them are from deep in the intimate and candid archives of Gil’s life. There needed to be room for viewers not only to feel and think what they wanted about each photo, but to also wonder what Gil was feeling and thinking at the time the moment was captured—as a photographer and more importantly as human.
About the photography of Gilberto Cárdenas
Gilberto Cardenas has spent his life advancing Latino art and culture as a scholar, philanthropist, and collector. At the University of Texas at Austin, and later at the University of Notre Dame, where he founded the Institute for Latino Studies and the Notre Dame Center For Arts and Culture, he became one of the nation’s leading voices in the sociology of the Mexican American Experience. His research and teaching illuminated the struggles and triumphs of immigration, labor, identity, and community, shaping generations of students and expanding the presence of Latino studies in American higher education. Beyond academia, he has served in foundational roles with the Smithsonian Latino Center, MALDEF, Self Help Graphics, Galeria Sin Fronteras, Latino USA! and many other institutions, championing equity and access while amplifying underrepresented voices. At the same time, he built one of the most significant collections of Latino art in the nation, placing countless works in museums and institutions to ensure that future generations encounter the depth and brilliance of these communities.
Throughout this tireless journey, Gil carried his camera. For more than sixty years he turned his lens toward the people and places that shaped him—friends and family, artists and elders, landscapes and city streets, the everyday and the extraordinary—capturing moments that speak to the human experience. Moments of love, creation, celebration, struggle, and reflection. All with their own unique beauty. These photographs hold memory against forgetting; they honor tales that might have slipped away if not for a still frame. They reveal not just what Gil saw, but how he wished the world to be remembered.
Curated by Joshua Xernandez
Curatorial support: Dolores García and Isabella Duarte.
Gilberto Cardenas has spent his life advancing Latino art and culture as a scholar, philanthropist, and collector. At the University of Texas at Austin, and later at the University of Notre Dame, where he founded the Institute for Latino Studies and the Notre Dame Center For Arts and Culture, he became one of the nation’s leading voices in the sociology of the Mexican American Experience. His research and teaching illuminated the struggles and triumphs of immigration, labor, identity, and community, shaping generations of students and expanding the presence of Latino studies in American higher education. Beyond academia, he has served in foundational roles with the Smithsonian Latino Center, MALDEF, Self Help Graphics, Galeria Sin Fronteras, Latino USA! and many other institutions, championing equity and access while amplifying underrepresented voices. At the same time, he built one of the most significant collections of Latino art in the nation, placing countless works in museums and institutions to ensure that future generations encounter the depth and brilliance of these communities.
Throughout this tireless journey, Gil carried his camera. For more than sixty years he turned his lens toward the people and places that shaped him—friends and family, artists and elders, landscapes and city streets, the everyday and the extraordinary—capturing moments that speak to the human experience. Moments of love, creation, celebration, struggle, and reflection. All with their own unique beauty. These photographs hold memory against forgetting; they honor tales that might have slipped away if not for a still frame. They reveal not just what Gil saw, but how he wished the world to be remembered.
Curated by Joshua Xernandez
Curatorial support: Dolores García and Isabella Duarte.
Chicano History Makers – Gracias José for the suggestion
Top Row L-R: Ricardo Romo, Tomás Rivera, José E. Limón, & Juan Gómez Quiñones
2nd Row L-R: Américo Paredes, Rolando Hinojosa-Smith; & Luis Leal
3rd Row L-R: Arturo Madrid & Carlos Arce
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Austin, Texas
Circa - 1983
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 16’’
Top Row L-R: Ricardo Romo, Tomás Rivera, José E. Limón, & Juan Gómez Quiñones
2nd Row L-R: Américo Paredes, Rolando Hinojosa-Smith; & Luis Leal
3rd Row L-R: Arturo Madrid & Carlos Arce
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Austin, Texas
Circa - 1983
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 16’’
Community and Collective Memory
This group of photographs moves through scenes of gathering, ritual, labor, performance, and looking, weaving together everyday spaces with moments of ceremony and creation. Indoors, Chicano Scholars gather in rooms that feel domestic yet intentional, their postures shifting between casualness and attentiveness. In other images, people come together around shared work—whether in a studio space with cameras and mirrors complicating the act of observation, or at a construction site where hands meet cinder blocks and tools, with guidance and effort intersecting in the process of building. These moments highlight the rhythms of collaboration, instruction, and making, each photograph situating people in relation to one another and the tasks before them.
The group also extends outward into public rituals and spaces of performance. A musician performs at a festival stage, his energy recorded by both the camera and a photographer leaning into the frame. Images of looking recur throughout—whether a man gazing at a framed picture of Superman sharing a drink with a folkloric figure, or a child being lifted to reach toward a print in a gallery. Across the collection, art, ritual, and labor appear not as separate spheres but as overlapping presences, where watching, making, and participating fold into each other.
The group also extends outward into public rituals and spaces of performance. A musician performs at a festival stage, his energy recorded by both the camera and a photographer leaning into the frame. Images of looking recur throughout—whether a man gazing at a framed picture of Superman sharing a drink with a folkloric figure, or a child being lifted to reach toward a print in a gallery. Across the collection, art, ritual, and labor appear not as separate spheres but as overlapping presences, where watching, making, and participating fold into each other.
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A man shows a child the art of Malaquías Montoya at Galeria Sin Fronteras
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present) Austin, Texas Circa - 1990 Fuji Lustre Print 11’’ x 14’’ |
Oscar Chavez plays for the 1986 Festival Internacional de la Raza
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Tijuana, Mexico
1986
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Tijuana, Mexico
1986
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
Malaquías Montoya consulting with COLEF crew for the first Chicano Mural in Mexico
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present) Parque Juvenil CREA Tijuana, Mexico 1986 Fuji Lustre Print 14’’ x 11’’ |
Amelia Malagamba, curator, supervising the construction of the walls for the mural projects by Malaquías Montoya and Carlos Coronado
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present) Parque Juvenil CREA Tijuana, Mexico 1986 Fuji Lustre Print 14’’ x 11’’ |
Malaquías Montoya signs his work for Amelia Malagamba, Mariana Bustamante, Gregorio Rocha and onlookers
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Tijuana, Mexico
Circa 1985
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Tijuana, Mexico
Circa 1985
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
Alberto Mata admiring the work of Daniel Manrique on the wall of Gil’s house in Austin
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Austin, Texas
Circa 1990
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Austin, Texas
Circa 1990
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
Family and Intimacy
These photos gather moments that reflect the intimacy of family and the quiet persistence of memory. In one photograph, a child sits at a table with two elders, leaning into their closeness, while another image captures two children standing in a backyard kiddie pool, playful and curious. Elsewhere, a grandmother steadies a toddler as they take steps near a pond, her hands firm but gentle. The sequence closes with an older man standing by a car under a wide Texas sky, his stance grounded, framed against the landscape.
Together, these images span generations, moving between the indoor table, the backyard, the neighborhood pond, and the roadside. Each scene feels ordinary yet enduring, bound by the gestures of care, presence, and everyday connection. Perhaps we see the rhythm of life that holds both fleeting moments of childhood and the steadying presence of elders, without dictating how one should view them, leaving space for reflection and personal association.
Together, these images span generations, moving between the indoor table, the backyard, the neighborhood pond, and the roadside. Each scene feels ordinary yet enduring, bound by the gestures of care, presence, and everyday connection. Perhaps we see the rhythm of life that holds both fleeting moments of childhood and the steadying presence of elders, without dictating how one should view them, leaving space for reflection and personal association.
Ray Kramer, Tomasa Cárdenas, and Isaiah Cardenas
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Los Angeles, California
n.d.
Fuji Lustre Print
12’’ x 18’’
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Los Angeles, California
n.d.
Fuji Lustre Print
12’’ x 18’’
Xoan and Sano Cárdenas in the kiddie pool at their home in Austin
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present) Austin, Texas 1995 Fuji Lustre Print 11’’ x 14’’ |
Tomasa Cárdenas holds the hand of Xoan at her home in California
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present) Los Angeles California Circa 1990 Fuji Lustre Print 14’’ x 11’’ |
Frank Cárdenas Jr. at PASS Automotive
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Cabazon, California
Circa 1975
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Cabazon, California
Circa 1975
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
Street Life and Encounters
This group of photographs moves between streets, markets, and interiors, linking together different rhythms of daily life. In one image, the camera peers down a lively street where cars squeeze between glowing storefronts and neon signs, a view that stretches toward tall buildings on the horizon. Another frame shifts upward to rooftops, where a water tower rises above apartments and older brick structures, holding together a layered cityscape of different times and needs. At ground level, a truck piled with watermelons becomes a stage where two young men pose, framed by the steel silhouette of a bridge in the background. Not far away, children wander sidewalks bordered by blank walls and doorways, their small figures set against the wide quiet of the street.
Elsewhere, the perspective turns indoors and abroad: a figure pauses before brightly colored artwork in a high-walled gallery, while another photograph leads the viewer down a narrow European alley ending at the façade of a church. The market returns as a recurring thread—tables of olives arranged in metal bowls, hand-lettered signs marking the prices, shaded by tarps as conversations and exchanges play out in the open air. Together, these images form a constellation of encounters: the street as stage, the market as gathering point, and architecture as both backdrop and actor. Each photograph places us at the edge of someone else’s world, leaving space to imagine the lives and stories that continue just beyond the frame.
Elsewhere, the perspective turns indoors and abroad: a figure pauses before brightly colored artwork in a high-walled gallery, while another photograph leads the viewer down a narrow European alley ending at the façade of a church. The market returns as a recurring thread—tables of olives arranged in metal bowls, hand-lettered signs marking the prices, shaded by tarps as conversations and exchanges play out in the open air. Together, these images form a constellation of encounters: the street as stage, the market as gathering point, and architecture as both backdrop and actor. Each photograph places us at the edge of someone else’s world, leaving space to imagine the lives and stories that continue just beyond the frame.
Busy Bourbon Street
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
New Orleans, Louisana
Circa 2000
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
New Orleans, Louisana
Circa 2000
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
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A water tower overlooks a New York City block
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present) New York City Circa 1970 Fuji Lustre Print 14’’ x 11 |
Fruit vendors in New York City pose with their wares
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
New York City
Circa 1970
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
New York City
Circa 1970
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
The rose window of the Modena Cathedral looks down an alleyway
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Modena, Italy
Circa 2000
Fuji Lustre Print
14’’ x 11’’
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Modena, Italy
Circa 2000
Fuji Lustre Print
14’’ x 11’’
A toddler in dress shoes too big for him, a girl playing
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Detroit, Michigan
Circa 1970
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Detroit, Michigan
Circa 1970
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
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Mediterranean Olive Market
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present) Location Unknown circa 2000 Fuji Lustre Print 14’’ x 11’’ |
A woman admires art
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Location Unknown
n.d.
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Location Unknown
n.d.
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
Landscapes and the Natural World
This grouping of images brings together scenes of nature and creatures that move within it, each one offering a different vantage point. A wide expanse of dry grassland opens onto snow-dusted mountains under a sky tinted with unusual color, a still view where the land stretches endlessly before the eye. A bird soars against a crisp blue sky, wings outstretched, suspended in motion with clouds drifting behind. Closer to the ground, pigeons gather on the rough surface of an old stone structure, their presence blending with the weathered texture of the building. Finally, a canyon carved deep into the earth displays striated walls of red and green, layered with time, rising and falling in intricate formations. Together, these images allow the viewer to move from earth to sky, from the vastness of open land to the closeness of living creatures and the enduring presence of stone and canyon walls.
A mountain in Colorado
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Colorado, USA
n.d.
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 16’’
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Colorado, USA
n.d.
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 16’’
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Pigeons perched on an old brick chimney
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present) Location Unknown n.d Fuji Lustre Print 14’’ x 11’’ |
A seagull in flight looks at the camera
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Unknown Location
n.d.
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Unknown Location
n.d.
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
Peaks and Valleys of Waimea Canyon
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Kaua'i, Hawaii
n.d.
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Kaua'i, Hawaii
n.d.
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
Spirit and Symbol
This group of photographs moves through forms of presence that are at once grounded and elevated. A statue stands watch beneath an open sky; a courtyard reflects itself in still water; a figure in white holds a pose on a city street; a church sits beneath gathering clouds; a young woman is the subject of a ritual. Each image lingers at the edge of the everyday and the symbolic, leaving space for the viewer to wonder about what is being held, remembered, or revealed in the moment.
Monument to Cuauhtémoc on the Paseo de Los Heroes
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Tijuana, Mexico
n.d.
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’x 16’’
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Tijuana, Mexico
n.d.
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’x 16’’
|
Patio de los Arrayanes of the Alhambra
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present) Granada, Spain n.d. Fuji Lustre Print 16’’ x 11’’ |
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Street Angel in New Orleans
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present) New Orleans, Louisiana n.d. Fuji Lustre Print 18’’ x 12’’ |
A young woman at the focal point of a ritual
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Location Unknown
n.d
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Location Unknown
n.d
Fuji Lustre Print
11’’ x 14’’
A lonely church, a storm brews
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Location Unknown
n.d.
Fuji Lustre Print
12” x 24”
Gilberto Cárdenas (1947— Los Angeles, California, South Bend, Indiana, Austin, Texas, present)
Location Unknown
n.d.
Fuji Lustre Print
12” x 24”
Artist Reception
Saturday, September 20, 2025
