Kiara Aileen Machado

Munzón Gallery is excited to announce Kiara Aileen Machado's first solo exhibition with the gallery, "Hija del Istmo." The exhibition will feature a new body of work inspired by Machado's recent travels to Honduras, Guatemala, and Cuba. Join us for the opening reception Saturday August 31, 2024 from 6-9 pm. The exhibition will be on view through September 21, 2024.​

In this series of paintings and drawings, Machado addresses ongoing struggles of resistance related to body and land autonomy, forms of communication and connection, intergenerational trauma, and intertwined issues of identity. Her work emphasizes the experiences of the Central American and Caribbean diaspora, particularly within the isthmus. Machado's identity as a Central American, with her mother from Guatemala, her father from El Salvador, and her great-grandmother from Honduras, deeply influences her work. Through this cultural lens, she questions the absence and exclusion of Central American voices from mainstream U.S. and Latin(x)(e) narratives. Each piece in the exhibition reflects her experiences and insights from her travels to Honduras, Guatemala, and Cuba, exploring how the role of the artist is influenced by geopolitical space.

Kiara Aileen Machado is a contemporary artist born in Lynwood, California, whose work explores the construction of identity, femininity, and culture. She earned her bachelor’s degree in painting and drawing from California State University Long Beach in 2018. Machado has contributed to murals in border towns, highlighting the violence these borders impose on communities, migration, and the environment. Her mural work spans from San Diego to Tijuana, Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, as well as a community-based mural in Siguatepeque, Honduras. Her artwork has been exhibited in museums and galleries across the United States and has begun to gain international recognition in cities such as Florence, Frankfurt, Berlin, Paris, and San Salvador.