Lowrider culture, heritage on display at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center

A Fort Worth art gallery has been turned into a lowrider show.

The customized automobiles are too large to fit through the doors and the pandemic ruined a planned block party, but the exhibit features several elaborately designed pedal cars and bicycles that would normally be displayed in parking lots on weekends.

On view through December 12 in the main gallery of the Fort Worth Community Arts Center (FWCAC), “Adelante: Puro Raza Bicycle and Pedal Car Show” recognizes Chicano lowrider culture as high art.

“I remember growing up around it and seeing the amount of dedication to the craftmanship and the amount of work,” said FWCAC exhibitions manager Giovanni Valderas. “I knew that these were ongoing projects and I thought about it as a form of art that’s not really exposed to the art world.”

In his own work as an artist, Valderas has often used piñata techniques.

“We are accustomed to our visual language,” he said. “We see it everywhere. But when we elevate that to something we see in a gallery show it’s really empowering. It inspires us to take a second look and realize the importance of this culture we belong to.”

In the gallery, the car culture enthusiasts set up installations for their tricked-out rides the same way they normally prepare in parking lots. The level of detail and the amount of time invested reminded Valderas of the traditional artists he normally works with in other exhibits.

Sarah Ayala, a Fort Worth artist, who enjoys going to lowrider shows on weekends, was surprised that Valderas was able to convince so many to hand over their prized possessions for a month. These bicycles and pedal cars often take countless hours and thousands of dollars to produce, maintain, and upgrade.

Valderas admits that some were initially skeptical and even asked about the payout, but ultimately no one declined to participate.

“I’ve seen photographs from lowrider shows in galleries,” Ayala said. “But never the pure essence of it like this. A lot of the people within the culture don’t see themselves represented in high art institutions.”

Ayala says lowrider culture is essentially about family and points out that it is largely represented by middle-aged fathers in Fort Worth.

“They’re building social capital with these functions,” Valderas said. “They’re increasing their bonds with their friends and families.” Some of the bikes sit too low to be functional, but many of the pedal cars are very expensive toys for children.

“I wanted to be able to give them an opportunity to show their work in a different space where a different kind of audience is going to see it,” Valderas said. “And it’s an opportunity to get new people into the space and to let them know it’s for everyone.”

Robert Santillan, a maintenance technician from Mansfield, had never even been in an art gallery when Valderas offered him a chance to exhibit the bike he built for his son a couple years ago. It has a modified Schwinn-style frame and he took it to Juarez, Mexico to have it airbrushed with an Aztec theme. In the gallery, the bike spins on a carpet with barriers.

“It represents our culture and our heritage,” Santillan said. His father introduced him to lowrider culture when he was growing up in East Los Angeles. He considers it an artform, but never imagined being contacted by a gallery.

Ricky Torres, a Fort Worth warehouse manager, says lowriding is a “family thing, a hobby, and a sport.” He tries to attend lowrider shows every weekend, both local and out of state. At FWCAC he is showing his children’s two pedal cars. One has three wheels and is modeled after an airplane and the other resembles a ’40s convertible. Both have customized metal frames and shiny candy paint. They are displayed with jewels and placed on mirrors to make the undercarriages visible.

“Everybody puts their blood, sweat, and tears into this,” Torres said. “And especially money.” Indeed, he says at least $4,000 were spent on the two pedal cars.

Torres says he had last stepped into a gallery as a child but was “blown away” by the experience. He now has his eye on a particular piece for sale in one of the community center’s other galleries.

“When you open up the space you never know what you are going to get and it can be really fascinating,” Valderas said. “After setting up his bike, one guy asked me if we show prison art. He showed me all these drawings he did in prison and they were amazing. I think we have a show for him.”

This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 5:30 AM.