Crossing Borders

Crossing Borders features select works in the museum collection along with works by artists in the community who have immigrated to the US.

The Museum of Ventura County has always served as a repository of fine art from Ventura County and the surrounding region.

In this exhibition, we highlight a selection of works in our collection by artists who immigrated to or whose parents immigrated to the US, often as refugees in search of safe haven, bringing their ideas and talents with them. The works were chosen by the Exhibits Department staff at the Museum. They represent a range of mediums including painting, sculpture, weaving, and ceramic, and a span of nearly 100 years.

During this past year, the issue of immigration to this country has become part of our daily conversations.  The steady movement of ideas and people from varied backgrounds and experiences have always been a driver of innovation and creativity. The history of modern art is a history of global turmoil and migration. American culture has flourished through the contributions of artists from around the world. The collection of The Museum of Ventura County reflects this fact. Artists featured in the exhibit are: Cornelius Botke, Fabian Famoso Sandoval, Farr Ligvani, Gui Ignon, Roseanne Oliveros, Rafael Perea de la Cabada, Maria Diaz, Robert Clunie, Maribel Hernandez, Porfirio Gutierrez, Yoshiro Ikeda, Otto Heino

One artist featured in this exhibit is Roseanne Oliveros, who was raised in Guadalajara, Jalisco is a US Navy Veteran that served from 1995 to 2017.  Of her many accomplishments, she became the third woman Seabee to graduate Second Class Dive School in April 2000.  From there she went on to become the first and only female Chief Warrant Officer in the Civil Engineer Corps and was inducted in the Woman Divers Hall of Fame in 2010.

After leaving the military, Oliveros found that through art, she was able to cope with the many challenges veterans face after retirement.  She graduated as a Master Jeweler in 2019 and quickly learned that she was passionate working with creating.  It was in this creative capacity that she began working leather and focused her attention in making leather masks.  Although new in the Art world, Oliveros has created some impressive pieces.