Another member of the legendary L.A. Chicano arts collective, "Los Four", Gilbert "Magu" Luján and his compatriots Carlos Almaraz, Frank Romero, and Robert De La Rocha, drew attention to Chicano art in the 70s with murals and public art projects.
Luján invented a world of mythical/fanciful creatures and cultural oddities; dogs shaped like pyramids, brilliantly colored low-rider cars inflated like balloons, strutting stick figures and anthropomorphic rabbits in sunglasses. They populated an imaginary place called "Magulandia" but were drawn from the essence of Chicano and Mexican culture.
The exhibition at Craig Krull Gallery, Tracking Magulandia, will explore the sources of Luján's iconography in traditional Mexican folklore and Pre-Columbian Art. Luján is the subject of a major retrospective at UCI, curated by Hal Glicksman as part of the Getty's LA/LA initiative.