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As a child, when Georgina Treviño wasn’t riding ornately decorated horses while performing precisely planned choreography as part of a sport called “escaramuza,” she was frequenting thrift shops.
“I was six years old, with all this jewelry and stuff,” says Treviño, now 35. “It made me fearless and gave me confidence. I was interested in all the things we would wear. I can see now how ornamental that practice was—a lot of my childhood was that.”
These days Treviño’s a multidisciplinary artist and designer who creates wearable sculptures and jewelry that reflect and are inspired by her identity and the rich influences of the ′90s, in addition to Y2K and Mexican culture.
On Sept. 25, Treviño’s latest exhibit, “Artefactos Alterados” (“Altered Objects”) opens at INDUSTRY One Foundation, a nonprofit gallery space and creative platform in downtown Portland. Art-goers can expect the pieces on display to embody various reawakenings of Treviño’s past selves, done through transformed objects. Over 20 art pieces created from found items like CDs, costume jewelry, one statue of Jesus, a tiny purse and a cement epoxy medium will be on display.
“The show is more about how I give life to these objects,” Treviño says. “I see it more as anthropological studies of objects, so that’s the idea—seeing them as if we found them a thousand years from now [and exploring] how these everyday objects would look.”
She describes the process behind creating each piece as an ongoing conversation between her and the medium(s). “The work leads the way. I’m just unapologetically following,” Treviño says. “Sometimes I’m stuck, but [then] I let the work lead me.”
A self-identified “border person,” Treviño grew up in Tijuana, Mexico, until moving to the United States at age 14, where she lived in San Diego and eventually attended San Diego State University for painting and then metalworking. While there, she would sell jewelry made from trash, like Splenda packets.
She took a brief break from school to travel to Mexico City to reconnect with her Latina roots, where she established a repertoire for herself that follows her regardless of whether she is in Mexico or the U.S.
While her program required a strictly artistic approach to jewelry, Treviño now enjoys designing funky wearable pieces that bridge the gap between art and garment. She has collaborated directly with celebrities like Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny and 2 Chainz. She occasionally lends out pieces (like a tomato-can purse she loaned to Luísa Sonza) to those who enjoy her art.
“In fashion, I’m asking, ‘Why do we need to wear fine jewelry?’” Treviño says. “In the end, it’s just how you place and wear things. For someone, it could be a piece of trash, but how [they] wear it makes a difference. The dialogue of these objects and how that changes based on how you present them or think of them is interesting. It’s funny to me.”
Tickets to the exhibition include admission to a custom jewelry-making workshop, led by Treviño. Participants will create a pair of earrings or other accessories using materials and found objects provided by the exhibition and take whatever they make home.
GO: “Artefactos Alterados” by Georgina Treviño is on view at INDUSTRY One, 415 SW 10th Ave., 503-894-1437, industry1.org/gallery. 9 am–5 pm Monday–Friday, Sept. 25–Nov. 1. Free.