DENVER —SLV native and colcha artisan, Josephine Lobato will be celebrated with an art showing in Denver.
This fall, the University of Denver will host a significant event in the art world. The retrospective exhibition, Mi Vida en Colcha, by San Luis native and colcha embroidery artist Josephine Lobato, will be a celebration of our cultural heritage.
The exhibition will open with a reception on Thursday, Oct. 24, from 5 to 7 p.m. at DU's Shwayder Art Building, and will continue to inspire and connect us with our past until Wednesday, Dec. 4.
Colcha embroidery uses wool on cotton or linen fabric and began in the southwestern United States. Early examples date back to 1776 and appeared in Spanish colonial churches in New Mexico.
Colcha motifs include personal stories, churches, or events in the region and include scenes of Spanish, Mexican and Native American culture.
Lobato's colcha work, "Padre Garcia," includes a local Catholic church. According to PieceWork Magazine, her “Los Pastores de La Sierra," Includes the history of sheep herding on land called "Puertocito," that originally were Spanish Land grants and are now fenced off and deny access to the descendants of the original Spanish settlers in the Valley. At the top of the piece are mountains that represent freedom.
Mi Vida en Colcha is the first comprehensive survey of Lobato's art, providing the rare opportunity to view the life's work of one of Colorado's most significant artists. In 2019 Lobato was awarded the prestigious National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in recognition of her exceptional contribution to American folk and traditional arts. She is the only living Colorado artist to receive this honor.
Lobato was born in San Luis in 1936. She lives and works in Westminster.
She is a storyteller, a great-great-grandmother, a teacher, and a historian. She had a long career as a curator and director in the San Luis Valley at the Fort Garland Museum. She was instrumental in starting the Sangre de Cristo Heritage Museum in the town of San Luis. Lobato graduated from Mercy High Catholic School in San Luis and received an Associate of Arts degree from Adams State College. She was married to her husband Eugene Joseph "Buddy" Lobato (1932 - 2022) for 68 years. She is the mother of eight accomplished children.
Mi Vida en Colcha is a comprehensive retrospective of the textile art Lobato began creating in 1988. Colcha embroidery came to the San Luis Valley from Northern New Mexico in the 19th Century and has been shaped by revival movements in Colorado and New Mexico into a pictorial narrative artform. The term colcha refers to the Spanish word for bed covering. In the United States, colcha embroidery refers to a textile that primarily uses the colcha stitch, a couching stitch - the oldest embroidery stitch in the world. Lobato uses colcha embroidery to depict the stories and folklore of her life and community, keeping their legacy alive with her art.
Lobato has taught colcha embroidery workshops across Colorado, honoring the Hispanic heritage of Southern Colorado and its connections across regions and generations. As a colcha embroidery teacher, Lobato shared her skills with her family and with people of diverse backgrounds and ages. For her, it was not only the passing on of a traditional craft but also reaching towards integrating the cultures, skills, education, and experiences of an entire community.
Mi Vida en Colcha will feature forty-four colcha embroideries accompanied by texts that offer insight into the stories they depict, alongside family photographs and a video that provides a biographical portrait of the artist. The exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Michael Lobato, Lobato's grandson, who passed away on August 19, 2024. Colcha embroideries made by Lobato's daughter Rita Lobato Crespin and granddaughter Rachelle Varela are included, further reflecting the generations of family connected through the artwork.
Mi Vida en Colcha is curated by Lobato in collaboration with Adrienne Garbini, Dr. Suzanne MacAulay, Trent Segura, and the San Luis Valley Colcha Embroidery Project. The San Luis Valley Colcha Embroidery Project is a partnership between The Range in Saguache, HEART of Saguache, and artists in the Valley that supports exhibitions, workshops, and scholarship. The University of Denver Department of Art and Art History is partnering with the San Luis Valley Colcha Embroidery Project to host this important retrospective exhibition that honors Lobato's unique artistry in preserving her memories, textile traditions, and the history of the San Luis Valley.
The University of Denver Davis Gallery is located in the Shwayder Art Building at 2121 E. Asbury Ave. The University of Denver Chambers Center for the Advancement of Women is located at 1901 E. Asbury Ave. Mi Vida en Colcha is open to the public at both locations from Oct. 24 through Dec. 4. To make an appointment to view the exhibition, call Lauren Anuszewski at 970-987-4858 or email lauren.anuszewski@du.edu.
Mi Vida en Colcha will result in an exhibition catalog published by the San Luis Valley Colcha Embroidery Project. For more information, contact The Range at info@therangeontheinternet.com.
