Celeste De Luna

American printmaker (born 1974)

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Celeste De Luna (born 1974) is an American Chicana visual artist, printmaker, and educator.[1] She is self-taught and is known for large-scale woodcut prints and fabric installations, focusing on capturing personal and collective experiences.[2]

## Biography

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De Luna lived in Illinois during her early life, and was raised in the lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas.[2][3] She is a second-generation Tejana.[3] In Texas, De Luna developed a deep connection to the region's cultural tapestry. Her upbringing influenced her artistic vision, prompting her to explore themes related to life along the borderlands, identity, and migration in her work.

She graduated from the University of Texas–Pan American where she earned her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree.[4] She currently teaches art at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Brownsville.[5]

## Art

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Necrocitizen is a black-and-white woodcut print featured on the cover of the book Fencing in Democracy by Miguel Diaz-Barriga and Margaret Dorsey. The image in this print features a skull, representing De Luna's exploration of oppressive structures imposed on brown bodies, treated as second-class citizens.[6]

BorderLand X-scapes is an art workshop with the primary goal of decolonizing the border through a futuristic lens, highlighting indigenous populations.[7]

De Luna is the co-founder of Las Imaginistas, a socially engaged art collective that contributes to various projects aimed at fostering community dialogue and social awareness.[4][8] Las Imaginstas collaborates with professors from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley to examine the mind and body of Brownsville and challenge colonial ideologies through the city's architecture.[9] Las Imaginistas received a 2017 Artplace America Creative Placemaking grant and 2018 A Blade of Grass Fellows.[10]

## References

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1. ^ "Celeste De Luna", Entre Guadalupe y Malinche, University of Texas Press, pp. 229–233, 2016-02-23, doi:10.7560/307960-060, ISBN 978-1-4773-0837-0, retrieved 2023-12-09
2. ^ a b "Celeste De Luna". Santa Fe Art Institute. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
3. ^ a b Griest, Stephanie Elizondo (2017-05-08). All the Agents and Saints: Dispatches from the U.S. Borderlands. UNC Press Books. p. 79\. ISBN 978-1-4696-3160-8.
4. ^ a b Magda, Garcia (2018). "Interview with Celeste De Luna" (PDF). Camino Real: Estudios de las Hispanidades Norteamericanas. 10 (13): 119–131 - via UAH.
5. ^ "About the Artist: Celeste de Luna". Diálogo. 21 (2): 99–100. 2018. doi:10.1353/dlg.2018.0032. ISSN 2471-1039.
6. ^ Webjefa (2020-07-17). "Celeste De Luna". Chicana/Latina Studies. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
7. ^ "Border Land X Scapes & The Future - The Visualist". The Visualist - Chicago Visual Arts Calendar. 2019-11-14. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
8. ^ "Celeste De Luna – Xicanx Art". Retrieved 2023-12-07.
9. ^ "Las Imaginistas". A Blade of Grass. Retrieved 2023-12-06.
10. ^ "Celeste de Luna". Women's Studio Workshop. Retrieved 2023-12-06.