Postcard from San Antonio: Brothers share maximalist hospitality hints

Above: A place setting of “Le Point de Bascule,” an installation by the de la Torre Brothers as part of their exhibition, “Upward Mobility,” at the McNay Art Museum

An appetizing invitation from the de la Torre Brothers you can’t refuse? First entering the McNay’s gallery containing their almost-all-media dinner-party installation, “Le Point de Bascule,” you feel as though the guests must have stepped away from the table for a smoke on the patio after a wildly fabulous meal. Taxidermy around the walls make it feel oddly at home in big-game-hunting Texas.

We’re repulsed by this opulence. But we’re also thinking: ‘God, I wish I’d been invited to this party.’”

Artist Einar de la Torre, interviwed by Patricia Escarcega for an article in The New York Times

Above: The dining room table in “Le Point de Bascule,” a multimedia art installation by the de la Torre Brothers

But the brothers’ quirky deviltry quickly becomes apparent. Closer inspection reveals nothing remotely tempting for dinner. No wonder the absentee guests failed to clean their plates, particularly if they examined the glass-encased chaos under the table.

The entire scene is seductively fabulous. You find yourself circling trying to examine every detail in the room. Einar and Jamex de la Torre combine their glassblowing skills with found objects to create their satirical pieces filling the large gallery with a decorating touch far removed from modernist minimalism.

Their mixed media works playfully incorporate humor and satire into critiques of consumption and indulgence.”

Website of the McNay Art Museum

Above: Details of “Le Point de Bascule,” a multimedia art installation by the de la Torre Brothers

The lives of this pair of brothers straddle the border. They were born in Guadalajara, Mexico, in the early 1960s but moved and completed most of their school years in California. Collaboration in their work did not begin until the brothers were in their early thirties. Now they maintain homes in both countries, their themes and references in their art reflecting that complex cultural duality.

The brothers use motifs from Aztec mythology, Catholic iconography, popular culture, and art history to build symbolically loaded imagery.”

Website of the McNay Art Museum 

Outside the main dining room, the mix of works includes lenticular pieces that shimmer and appear to change as you rove about the gallery. Viewing “Coatzilla” on the McNay’s website is highly recommended.

RSVP for a “seat” at that table before the McNay’s invitation to the party expires on September 14. It’s a memorable fiesta.