Making the Invisible Visible, New Exhibition Crossing Lines/Lineas que Cruzamos, Explores Hidden Stories About Migration and Immigration

SAN FRANCISCO, February 10, 2023 —The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) Main Gallery is thrilled to present Crossing Lines/Lineas que Cruzamos, a two-person exhibition featuring the works of Mexican-born artists, Arleene Correa Valencia and Georgina Reskala.  

Crossing Lines/Lineas que Cruzamos opens on March 3, 2023 at the SFAC Main Gallery in the War Memorial Veterans Building and will be on view through April 29, 2023. 

“San Francisco is known not only as a city of sanctuary for many people from all walks of life where all are welcome from all corners of the world, but it is also known as a world class city of incredible public art and artists,” said Ralph Remington, Director of Cultural Affairs. “The San Francisco Arts Commission is thrilled to work with and showcase the works of Arleene Correa Valencia and Georgina Reskala to give a voice and a platform to highlight the often-untold stories of people who seek a better life and future for themselves and their family.”   

To leave is to die a little.  
To arrive is never to arrive.   
Partir es morir un poco 
Llegar nunca es llegar. 

-  migrant prayer 

Crossing Lines is curated by accomplished photographer and educator, Ann Jastrab, and features the dynamic works of Georgina Reskala and Arleene Correa Valencia, both esteemed graduates of the California College of the Arts. Both artists, who each live and work in California, imbue their pieces with personal immigration narratives, adding depth and nuance to the exhibition as a whole. 

“Both Arleene Correa Valencia and Georgina Reskala want to retell erased history, to have another look,” states exhibition curator Ann Jastrab. “Women of color historically haven’t been given a chance to tell their stories. The title, Crossing Lines, speaks not just of their textile work (sewing), but of crossing physical, psychological, cultural, moral borders and boundaries.”  

Correa Valencia and Reskala have more in common than their place of origin and where they both nurtured their artistic talents. Their work has a relationship to grief, community, endurance, immigration, flight, displacement, separation and mortality. There is meaningful tension in their works, both Correa Valencia’s large, embroidered textiles and Reskala’s small silver prints and woven (and unwoven) pieces that have been obsessively reworked. There is also a pointed look at absence and invisibility, and in particular, absence made visible.  

“We are excited to open the exhibition Crossing Lines/Lineas que Cruzamos and to honor the timely work of Arleene and Georgina, who through the tactile and visual language of art, highlight histories of migration that are often made invisible," said Carolina Aranibar-Fernandez, Director of Galleries and Public Programs. “We are honored to welcome these phenomenal artists into our space in the Main Gallery so they can show and tell these stories.”  

Arleene Correa Valencia’s textile works draw heavily from her upbringing and her migration to the United States. Her work explores her identity as a registered “illegal alien” through a thoughtful play portraiture. Figures are both concealed and exposed in her work, examining how communities are often rendered visible and invisible based on their lack of documentation, skin color, and ethnicity. Through her large-scale works, Correa Valencia seeks to celebrate and validate her community’s resilience and strength. 

Georgina Reskala seeks to stop transient moments, creating a record of what slips away from history. Her photography and textile-based work involves folds, layers, cuts, and transformation to reveal hidden images and through that investigates how stories get reshaped and how history is written. Reskala’s work explores the process of separation that many immigrants go through: a slow process of letting go of roots and language in exchange for belonging or safety. Figures shift, disappear, and reappear in her work, evoking the changing relationship between an individual and their cultural roots.  

Exhibition Details 
Crossing Lines/Lineas que Cruzamos  
March 3 – April 29, 2023 
SFAC Main Gallery, War Memorial Veterans Building 
401 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 126, San Francisco, CA 94102 
Wednesday – Saturday, noon – 5 p.m. 
Free and open to the public 

Opening Public Reception Details 
Friday, March 3, 6 – 8 p.m.  
A special blessing for the exhibition will be offered by Xiuhcoatl Danza Azteca 
SFAC Main Gallery, War Memorial Veterans Building 
401 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 126, San Francisco, CA 94102 
No reservation required. Free and open to the public 

Voces Entretejidas/Woven Voices 
Saturday, March 25, 1 – 4  p.m. 
Join artist Georgina Reskala in creating a collective textile piece.  
SFAC Main Gallery, Veterans Building 
401 Van Ness Ave #125, San Francisco, CA 94102 
 
Artist Talk with Arleene Correa Valencia and Georgina Reskala 
Wednesday, April 12, 7 p.m. 
Moderated Shana Lopes, Assistant Curator of Photography, SFMOMA 
SFAC Main Gallery, Veterans Building 
401 Van Ness Ave #125, San Francisco, CA 94102 
 

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About the San Francisco Arts Commission 
The San Francisco Arts Commission is the City agency that champions the arts as essential to daily life by investing in a vibrant arts community, enlivening the urban environment and shaping innovative cultural policy. Our programs include: Civic Art Collection, Civic Design Review, Community Investments, Public Art, SFAC Galleries, and Art Vendor Licensing. To learn more, visit sfartscommission.org.