WILLIAMSTOWN, MA, August 1, 2024 – The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) is pleased to present the exhibition Teddy Sandoval and the Butch Gardens School of Art, the first museum retrospective dedicated to the work of the inventive though long-overlooked artist who was central to Los Angeles’s queer and Chicanx artistic circles and was active in both US and international avant-garde movements. On view from August 23 through December 22, 2024, the exhibition covers a quarter century of the artist’s work, revealing how Sandoval (1949–1995) produced subversive yet playful works that explored the codes of gender and sexuality, often mining archetypes of masculinity through the signature icon of a faceless man sporting a mustache.

The “Butch Gardens School of Art” of the title was the artistic persona Sandoval invented for himself, adopting this pseudonym from the Butch Gardens, a gay bar in LA’s Silver Lake neighborhood that was frequented in the early 1970s by the artist and other Chicanx residents. He distributed his own artworks and organized exhibitions with friends and collaborators under the umbrella of an imaginary Butch Gardens School of Art, which had only one member: himself.

Sandoval was trained in art and printmaking at East Los Angeles College and California State University, Long Beach, in the early 1970s during the Chicano Civil Rights and gay liberation movements. While the exhibition presents his work across many media, it pays particular attention to his works on paper, including prints, drawings, artist photocopies, and mail art.

Pamela Franks, Class of 1956 Director of the Williams College Museum of Art, said, “Teddy Sandoval and the Butch Gardens School of Art exemplifies the multiple ways that WCMA makes art accessible for enjoyment, study, and discussion through research-intensive exhibitions that spotlight the important contributions of previously underrecognized artists. These are the kinds of possibilities that will multiply exponentially when we open our new home that is now in development, as previewed in the ongoing exhibition SO–IL\WCMA: Building a New Museum. We look forward to welcoming everyone to dive into the world revealed through Sandoval’s work and to glimpse the design for our future home, highlighting our vision for expanded special exhibition spaces.”

About Teddy Sandoval and the Butch Gardens School of Art
Teddy Sandoval and the Butch Gardens School of Art invites visitors to discover the work of a fascinating artist and consider how his practice was in dialogue with regional, national, and international social, political, and artistic movements. The exhibition shows how Sandoval’s work examined the codes of masculinity within Chicanx and queer culture, most directly through his signature image of a faceless male figure—a macho icon that Sandoval presented with both irreverence and desire. These figures appeared in his fine art prints, drawings, and ceramics and were also adapted for his mail art multiples, gay male magazine illustrations, and advertising for a Los Angeles-based record store.

These interests also shaped collaborative performances such as the series La Historia de Frida Kahlo (1978), made in collaboration with Gronk. As documented in the exhibition, the two artists humorously and exuberantly sent up the lives of Frida Kahlo (played by Sandoval) and Diego Rivera (Gronk), casting Kahlo as both a model of artistic inspiration and a gender outlaw.

Works such as the print Angel Baby (1995), which Sandoval produced at the esteemed Los Angeles non-profit Self Help Graphics & Art, addressed the unfolding AIDS crisis with images of strength and resilience, as in this figure of a muscular angel wearing boxing gloves. In the late 1980s and ’90s, Sandoval also became well known for his whimsical ceramics, examples of which are included in the exhibition.

In the spirit of collectivity suggested by the “school of art,” this expansive survey proposes an alternative model for the monographic exhibition by surrounding Sandoval with works by an intergenerational group of 29 queer, Latinx, and Latin American artists who share his graphic sensibilities, approaches to media, or thematic interests. According to exhibition curators C. Ondine Chavoya and David Evans Frantz, “Our approach honors the imagination of Sandoval’s Butch Gardens School of Art and reactivates it by bringing artists in dialogue with his work and with one another. In the process, we highlight parallel approaches across the Americas among artists who largely did not have the opportunity to show with or know one another.” Examples include the alluring fashion illustrations of Antonio Lopez; a sensual depiction of touch by Marisol; cruisy renderings by Ever Astudillo of men in the street of his native Cali, Columbia; and tender representations of Chicana lesbian erotics by Ester Hernández.

The artists represented, other than Teddy Sandoval, are Yolanda Andrade (b. 1950, Villahermosa, Mexico); Félix Ángel (b. 1949, Medellín, Colombia); Ever Astudillo (b. 1948, Cali, Colombia; d. 2015, Cali, Colombia); Myrna Báez (b. 1931, Santurce, Puerto Rico; d. 2018, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Felipe Baeza (b. 1987, Celaya, Guanajuato, Mexico); Álvaro Barrios (b. 1945, Cartagena, Colombia); Sérgio Valle Duarte (b. 1954, São Paulo); Gronk (b. 1954, Los Angeles); Ester Hernández (b. 1944, Dinuba, CA); Hudinilson Jr. (b. 1957, São Paulo; d. 2013, São Paulo); Antonio Lopez (b. 1943, Utuado, Puerto Rico, d. 1987, Los Angeles) and Juan Ramos (b. 1942, Caguas, Puerto Rico; d. 1995, New York); Marcos López (b. 1958,  Santa Fé, Argentina) and RES (b. 1957, Córdoba, Argentina) with Liliana Maresca (b. 1951, Avellaneda, Argentina; d. 1994, Buenos Aires) and Adriana Miranda (b. 1969, San Juan, Argentina); Marisol (b. 1930, Paris, France; d. 2016, New York); María Martínez-Cañas (b. 1960, La Habana, Cuba); Agustín Martínez Castro (b. 1950, Veracruz, Mexico; d. 1992, Acapulco, Mexico); Marta Minujín (b. 1943, Buenos Aires); Troy Montes Michie (b. 1985, El Paso, TX); Adolfo Patiño (b. 1954, Mexico City; d. 2005, Mexico City); Claudio Perna (b. 1938, Milan, Italy; d. 1997, Holguín, Cuba); Moises Salazar Tlatenchi (b. 1996, Chicago); Ana Segovia (b. 1991, Mexico City); Ginger Brooks Takahashi (b. 1977, Huntington, WV); Joey Terrill (b. 1955, Los Angeles); Alex Vallauri (b. 1949, Asmara, Ethiopia; d. 1987, São Paulo); and Martin Wong (b. 1946, Portland, OR; d. 1999, San Francisco).

Curated by C. Ondine Chavoya and David Evans Frantz, Teddy Sandoval and the Butch Gardens School of Art is a traveling exhibition produced by Independent Curators International (ICI), New York, in collaboration with the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College and the Williams College Museum of Art. The exhibition is accompanied by a scholarly catalog co-published by Independent Curators International (ICI), Inventory Press, the Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College, and the Williams College Museum of Art.

About the Curators of Teddy Sandoval and the Butch Gardens School of Art
C. Ondine Chavoya holds the John D. Murchison Regents Professorship in Art in the Department of Art and Art History at the University of Texas at Austin and is a 2023–24 MoMA Scholar in Residence. Previously, he was Professor of Art History and Latina/o Studies at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. He is the author of numerous texts on Chicanx art, media, and performance and is a leading figure in the field of Latinx art history and visual culture. His curatorial projects have addressed issues of collaboration, experimentation, social justice, and archival practices in contemporary art. Chavoya co-organized Asco: Elite of the Obscure, A Retrospective, 1972–1987 with Rita Gonzalez in 2011 and Axis Mundo: Queer Networks in Chicano L.A. with David Evans Frantz in 2017.

David Evans Frantz is a Los Angeles–based independent curator and executive director of the Claire Falkenstein Foundation. He has previously held curatorial positions at ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at the USC Libraries, the Palm Springs Art Museum, and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. In 2017, he co-curated with C. Ondine Chavoya the exhibition Axis Mundo: Queer Networks in Chicano L.A. He is co-editor with Christina Linden and Chris E. Vargas of Trans Hirstory in 99 Objects, a publication of the Museum of Trans Hirstory & Art (MOTHA).

Support for Teddy Sandoval and the Butch Gardens School of Art
The exhibition is made possible with support from the Getty Foundation through The Paper Project initiative and the Terra Foundation for American Art. Additional support has been provided in part by the Mellon Foundation, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Curatorial Research Fellowship program, the AltaMed Art Collection, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Estrellita B. Brodsky. It is made possible with the generous support of ICI’s Board of Trustees and International Forum. Crozier Fine Arts is the Preferred Art Logistics Partner.

Media tour
A special tour for the media with WCMA Assistant Curator Elizabeth Sandoval will be held Friday, August 23, at 11 a.m. Please RSVP to WCMA Communications Manager Rebecca Dravis at [email protected].

Related programming
Friday, Sept. 27, 5-7 p.m., Fall Season Celebration: Join us throughout the galleries to celebrate all of our exhibitions on view this fall, including Teddy Sandoval and the Butch Gardens School of Art; Cracking the Cosmic Code: Numerology in Medieval Art; SO-IL/WCMA: Building a New Museum; Pallavi Sen: Colour Theory; and Remixing the Hall.

Saturday, Sept. 28, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Play and Inquiry: Celebrating Latinx and Queer Art Communities: Join lively dialogues and activities with the curators of Teddy Sandoval and the Butch Gardens School of Art, artists from the exhibition, students, community members, and WCMA staff as we explore topics highlighted in the art on view. There will be a free lunch for all participants and pre-registration is required by Monday, Sept. 23, at artmuseum.williams.edu.

Saturday, Nov. 16, 11 a.m.-noon, Curatorial Close Looks: A WCMA curator will lead a guided tour exploring themes and topics in Teddy Sandoval and the Butch Gardens School of Art.

On View Summer 2024
Object Lab
Object Lab is a hybrid gallery-classroom that visualizes the Williams College liberal arts curriculum through the museum collection. Through Dec. 22

SO–IL \ WCMA: Building A New Museum
The exhibition, organized by the architects of SO-IL, who have designed the new Williams College Museum of Art building, showcases what the new WCMA will look like when it opens in 2027. Through Dec. 22

Cracking the Cosmic Code: Numerology in Medieval Art
The idea that numbers emanate sacred significance, and connect the past with the future, is prehistoric and global. This exhibition aims to elucidate medieval relationships among numbers, events, and artworks. WCMA’s medieval and Renaissance artworks from the 5th to 17th centuries reveal numerical patterns as they relate to architecture, literature, gender, and timekeeping. Through Dec. 22

Remixing the Hall
Borrowing a term from DJ culture, “Remixing” describes WCMA curators’ process of selecting objects from the collection that highlight multivalent correspondences between form and
meaning in art. Through Dec. 22

About Williams College Museum of Art
The Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) creates and inspires transformative experiences with art that are integral to a liberal arts education, lifelong learning, and human connection. The museum is a partner in nurturing the cross-disciplinary inquiry catalyzed by art; advancing the academic and experiential preparation of arts leaders; enriching the cultural ecosystem of the Berkshires; engaging artists; and creating a shared learning community that spurs new thinking, creative making, and civic engagement. WCMA draws on the diverse perspectives and collaborative ethos of the College to enliven the more than 15,000 works in its growing collection. Located on Main Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts, on the Williams College campus, the museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, visit artmuseum.williams.edu

About Williams College
Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second-oldest institution of higher education in Massachusetts. The campus is home to approximately 2,100 students who develop close intellectual and personal relationships, learning from and alongside some of the world’s leading scholars. Williams’ faculty is devoted to teaching, mentoring, and scholarly research. Williams also offers two graduate programs. One is a two-year master’s degree in the history of art in partnership with the nearby Clark Art Institute. The second, offered by the College’s Center for Development Economics, is a yearlong master’s program designed for economists from low- and middle-income countries who have some practical experience.

The College offers one of the most generous financial aid programs in the country. Admission decisions for U.S. students are made regardless of their ability to pay; once they are here, the College meets 100% of the demonstrated need of all students regardless of citizenship. More than half of Williams students receive aid, and the College recently implemented the country’s first all-grant financial aid program, replacing the work-study, packaged loans, and summer earnings portion of financial aid with institutional grants.

About Independent Curators International
Independent Curators International (ICI) supports the work of curators to help create stronger art communities through experimentation, collaboration and international engagement. Curators are arts community leaders and organizers who champion artistic practice, build essential infrastructures and institutions, and generate public engagement with art. Our collaborative programs connect curators across generations and across social, political and cultural borders. They form an international framework for sharing knowledge and resources—promoting cultural exchange, access to art, and public awareness for the curator’s role.  http://www.curatorsintl.org/

The exhibition tour of Teddy Sandoval and the Butch Gardens School of Art has been organized by ICI and is available for hosting art spaces through 2027. For more information, contact ICI’s Director of Exhibitions, Becky Nahom, at [email protected].