Victor Cartagena (b. El Salvador) has been making art in the Bay Area since the 1980s. Cartagena’s artwork has addressed his experience as an immigrant, memories of violence in his home country, and the death penalty. He works in a variety of media including drawing/painting, installation, public art, sculpture, and theater.
His work has been exhibited at Southern Exposure, the University Art Museum at UC Berkeley, Galeria de la Raza, Ampersand International Arts, Catharine Clark Gallery, Euphrat Museum, the Mission Cultural Center, MACLA/Center for Latino Arts, the African American Library and Museum in Oakland, and the Oakland Museum of California, among others. He has received awards and grants that include the Creative Work Fund with MACLA (2010), San Francisco Arts Commission Cultural Equity Grant (2005), New Visions of California Art Award/Residency at 18th Street Arts Complex, Los Angeles, CA (2003), and Rockefeller Foundation MAP grant. His work is held in the collections of The Mexican Museum, San Francisco, CA; Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu, Hawaii; and The Contemporary Art Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii.
