ATHS Homecoming Queen 2021 Diana Viegas (right) made a special trip fresh from the team bus to the ACA gallery on Saturday, Oct. 9 to meet the artist Karla Wong. Wong presented a colorful and dreamlike art show called “Tales and Stories,” which will remain on display through Saturday, Nov. 6. Story and another photo inside.
The artist reception for the colorful and dreamlike art show called “Tales and Stories” by Karla Wong took place on Saturday, Oct. 9 at the Addison Center for the Arts (ACA) gallery.
The artist Karla Wong and her friends came with a giant pot of homemade tamales, as they were decked out in their Oaxacan goth finery complementing the imagery in the exhibit. Classical guitar musician Hector Fernandez dazzled everyone with his artistry.
Halfway through the reception, Addison Trail High School Homecoming Queen 2021 Diana Viegas stopped in just off the team bus from an athletic match to see the exhibit and meet Wong. She couldn’t stay long because she had to go home to get dressed for the Homecoming Dance in a just a couple of hours.
The president and founder of the National Museum of Mexican Art (NMMA) Carlos Tortolero kindly gave a speech congratulating Wong for her beautiful exhibit. He invites everyone to attend Wong’s solo exhibition at the NMMA in April 2022, which will be an important step highlighting Wong’s significance in the fine arts.
More about Karla Wong
Karla Wong is a rising art star of international renown who lives in Addison. Recently, Karla Wong was awarded Best in Show at the Alliance of Fine Art’s 2021 “Best of the Best Show” for one of her colorful magical realist paintings that incorporate themes of Mexican folklore and, more recently, pop-culture genres like steampunk and Oaxacan goth. The mingling of Mexican and American narrative imagery make her paintings engaging and distinctively hers.
“In each of my works, I try to express the love that I have for culture that is ingrained in me,” Wong said. “I chose to reach out beyond the typical and enter the world of magical surrealism, creating my own characters …I gave them their own life, playing with the colors without sparing anything.”
“Tales and Stories” by Karla Wong is partially funded by the Illinois Arts Council and continues through Saturday, Nov. 6.
The Addison Center for the Arts is located at 213 N. Lombard Road. Hours are Wednesday through Saturday 1 to 4 p.m. Admission is always free.
