Carlos Barberena’s woodcut and linograph prints combine the ancient gravitas of biblical illumination with the visceral heartache of modern life. They show populations that exist, that defy attempts to be stamped out or glossed over, and elevate them to sacred scenes. His most familiar might be a print of George Floyd, the familiar portrait surrounded by decorative curls. But there’s similar defiance in all the prints – the refugee mother with a baby on her back in Exodus, nestled in leaves like a decorative seal. Or the obvious Pietà reference in Santo Pollero, sanctifying the act of sharing water in border crossings. Barbarena’s work does, indeed, refuse erasure. – Cat McCarrey
Through Feb. 9