Opening Reception – Tropeycalia Club at Sac State University Gallery
The Sacramento State University Library Gallery is proud to present Título Salvaje ⇄ Salvaged Title, a multidisciplinary exhibition by the artist collective
Tropeycalia Club. Running from September 1 through October 16, 2026, this collaborative showcase brings together paintings, mixed media, and installations to explore cultural identity, decolonization, and political resistance. The public is invited to celebrate the exhibition at an Opening Reception on Thursday,
September 3, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Additionally, an Artist Talk will take place on Thursday, September 24, from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM, offering a deeper look into the collective’s creative process and political themes.
Rooted in the revolutionary spirit of the late 1960s Brazilian Tropicália movement, which formed to combat oppression and censorship under a military dictatorship, Tropeycalia Club uses art as a powerful form of cultural and political dissent. Influenced by Oswald de Andrade’s seminal 1928 Manifesto Antropófago (Cannibalist Manifesto), the trio “cannibalizes” and exposes the absurdities of cultural imperialism, consumerism, manifest destiny, and exceptionalism. Using satire, pointed humor, and asymmetrical compositions, the artists evoke a sense of displacement while advocating for cultural sovereignty in an increasingly fragmented, hyper-globalized world. Título Salvaje ⇄ Salvaged Title features the distinct voices of three northern California
contemporary artists:
Juan Carlos Quintana: A Cuban-American artist whose whimsical, satirical style embodies the original movement’s irony and ambiguity. He creates what he describes as a “pre-post-anti-pro revolutionary gumbo/ajiaco potpourri” of images that challenge dominant narratives and confront lost idealism.
Carlo Ricafort: A Filipino-American artist who “hacks” multiple sources across history, music, philosophy, and current events. Through painting, drawing, and printmaking, Ricafort creates free-associative commentaries that resist cultural purity in favor of a complex, immigrant-informed hybridity.
John Yoyogi Fortes: A Filipino-American artist who mirrors Tropicália’s blend of local and global aesthetics to explore decolonization and survival. His work uses bold visuals and humor to grapple with identity negotiation, specifically connecting the migratory journeys of birds to the Filipino diaspora.
By fostering a critical consciousness through visual art, Tropeycalia Club aims to provoke urgent dialogue around social justice, cultural hybridity, and the ongoing global struggles for self-determination.
About Tropeycalia Club
Tropeycalia Club is an artist trio dedicated to collaborative, multidisciplinary art that questions power structures and emphasizes the importance of diversity and cultural autonomy. By drawing upon the legacy of colonialism, their work resists oppressive systems and cultural extraction.
