Labor Days

About

Cuchifritos Gallery + Project Space is thrilled to present Labor Days a solo exhibition of mixed media works by Michael Pribich that referenceCocineros  (food workers) and laborers of all kinds.  The show examines the triumphs of immigrant working class labor, showing them in a position of strength instead of deficiency.  The industrial kitchen items utilized in Labor Days include stainless steel shelves, cutting boards, brooms and mops.  These are combined with diverse materials such as human hair, amulets, silver chain and medicine balls. These art works look at the workers’ motivating force and inspiration to continue working. They reveal a humanity that synthesizes and expands the definitions of economic, social and political systems.

As Pribich explains, “My practice is informed by the social justice issues of my surroundings in New York City, including the living and working conditions of the Essex Market staff.  I use process-oriented methods that symbolically or conceptually link materials and ideas.  The labor history of my own family grounds my work. My maternal grandfather immigrated from Mexico traveling back and forth across the border working as a farm laborer and cannery worker before settling in California with his family.  My paternal grandfather emigrated from Serbia and became a carpenter. These art works look at the workers motivating force and inspiration to continue.  The ideas include the eternal ongoing presence of the worker to sustain and promote living.”