The work of Enrique Chagoya is profoundly political. Populated by American cartoon figures, Catholic iconography, and references to the pre-Columbian past, it is at once spoof and angry diatribe, a daring excursion across cultural, political, and artistic boundaries.

The juxtaposition in Elvis Meets the Virgin of Guadalupe of two cultural icons, one Mexican, the other North American, exhibits Chagoya's penchant for pitting north against south, secular against sacred. In doing so he prompts a reconsideration of the validity of the Virgin of Guadalupe as a purely sacred image, one that, like Elvis, graces such objects as belt buckles and gearshift knobs.

Chagoya, who was born in Mexico City, received his MA and MFA from the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Art at Stanford University and is also an active lecturer and independent curator.

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