Details
In Stars Love Being Alone, artist Deanna Barahona shares a deeply personal story about home, memory, and migration. Many of the images use excerpts from her father’s old notebook, filled with English lessons, grocery lists, job applications, and love notes to the artist’s mother. Found tucked away in a box, the notebook gives a glimpse into her father’s life as a young immigrant from El Salvador. For Barahona, it became a symbol of care, sacrifice, and the quiet effort it takes to build a new life in a new place. For this body of work, she came up with the term “Cosmic Pop” to capture how she shares Latine stories in a bold and colorful way, using popular images to both honor her culture and reimagine what pop art can be.
Barahona’s art is full of bright colors, glitter, photos, ceramic tile, and cartoons. She draws inspiration from family parties, the decorations in her childhood home, and everyday objects like Valentine’s stickers or leftover balloons. New works made for this exhibition include images from important rites of passage and cultural events. Her work honors the stories found in ordinary things and ordinary moments—especially the ways Latine families preserve culture and connection through gatherings, language, and small acts of love. Her art celebrates the messy and beautiful ways families hold onto love and culture across time and distance. Through her eyes, even a birthday balloon or a piece of wrapping tape becomes a symbol of care, history, and pride. Through these pieces, Barahona invites us to see beauty in the details and to reflect on what we carry, remember, and leave behind.
Exhibition Highlights
Related Programming
Saturday, Jun 7 at 11 AM: Join us in the Nybak Gallery for a compelling conversation between curator and educator Bill Kelley and artist Deanna Barahona. Together, they will explore themes of community, memory, and socially engaged art practice in Barahona’s recent work. Free and open to the public.
Every Saturday at 11 AM: Join a free tour of the exhibition led by our trained docents. Check in at the front desk.
Contamos con visitas guiadas en español, las puedes solicitar al correo esaperstein@sloma.org para agendar.
Saturday, Jul 12, 11 AM–1 PM: SLOMA’s Second Saturdays free family art event. Create tile-framed portraits and ceramic paintings as seen in Stars Love Being Alone.
Deanna Barahona: Stars Love Being Alone is supported by
This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services
Este proyecto ha sido posible en parte por el Instituto de Servicios de Museos y Bibliotecas