Balboa Park’s Comic-Con Museum opened “Border Blitz: Artistas del Cómic de Tijuana” on May 9 which features the work of three generations of comic artists from Tijuana. This is the second binational exhibit at the museum supported by the Mexican Consulate.
“It would be remiss of us not to feature the culture of both sides of the binational community and include, in particular, the artists from Mexico,” said Comic-Con Museum Executive Director Rita Vandergaw.
It is also part of the World Design Capital San Diego Tijuana 2024 program. The most internationally well-known artist in the exhibit, Charles Glaubitz, curated a wall of his psychedelic paintings and animations which tell a story about ancient myths, quantum physics and spirituality. Before debuting the exhibit, he presented at Tijuana Design Week.
“[World Design Capital] is an opportunity to change the story. It’s an opportunity to realize that this region is an example of a larger world where even though we are separated by a geopolitical physical border, it doesn’t stop ideas from crossing,” Glaubitz said.
Urbano Mata, the oldest artist, uses his comedic and cynical hand-drawn, traditional cartoon style to explore a city divided by a border wall. The third Tijuana-based artist is also the youngest. Self-published Alejandra Yépiz Portillo creates digital comics influenced by Japan’s Manga about coming of age. This is the first-ever public showcase of her work.
“Talented comic artists are everywhere,” Vandergaw said, teasing another international comic exhibit coming later this year.
In the mean time, Comic-Con Museum also opened exhibits about the art of Betty Boop and the many collaborations of Riverside-based Afrofuturist artist John Jennings which will change every four months to highlight another partnership in his extraordinarily prolific career.
