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([[1957?]]-1990) of Cuba and New York. His minimalist 1991 [[?]] sculpture Untitled (March 5th) #2, is made up of two light bulbs and an extension cord - a simple tribute to his dead lover. "The two lightbulbs shine as one, with the knowledge that light bulbs always burn out, and one will probably burn out before the other," Mr. Connors explains.

He has divided the exhibit into loose thematic groups: "social action and political concerns," a "humor section," a "family and home" area and others.

The "political" work includes San Franciscan Enrique Chagoya's CODEX ESPANGLIENSIS from Columbus to the Border Patrol, a ferociously funny tribute to the folding books of early Mesoamerica. The elaborate hand-colored book, mounted in a 10-foot display case, is an irreverent stew of pop culture, Aztec and Native images and references. 

Sensuality takes over in Seattle painter Alfredo Arreguín's triptych The Tree of Life, the show's poster image. It's a lush botanical fantasy teeming with hidden animals and faces. Mr. Connors calls it "a shrine to creation" in his catalog notes.

Beside it is Los Angeles artist Chaz Bojórquez's breathtaking Graffiti Mandala, a baroque, shimmering homage to Chicano calligraphy in illusory chrome and gold. The piece merges low-rider iconography with "a Buddhist map of the world," Mr. Connors says.

Traditional folk-art pieces include a wooden sculpture of San Ysidro Labrador by Félix A. López and a woven blanket by Karen V. Martínez, both of New Mexico. Cuban-born Miami planter María Brito's Mother nad Child renders an episode from her own infancy in flawless mimicry of Italian Renaissance master Andrea Mantegna. 

But most fo the exhibit has a strongly contemporary air. Texan sculptor Jesús Bautista Moroles' Round Wafer is a suspended disk of gleaming black granite. Joaquin/Walking Spikes by Rubén Trejo of Spokane, Wash., tells a story in comic style panels, with each picture made of railroad spikes. 

In a special event on Saturday, Los Angeles artist Gronk will paint his contribution, Tormenta Cantata, to the live accompaniment of a string quartet and a soprano. 

During a pre-openign tour, the more avant-garde video and installation works were not yet in place, and some of the larger pieces were still being brought in. 

New Mexico sculptor Luis Jiménez was working with a team of 

http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainment/207217_museum_05art.html         11/8/2000