in different colors. Before they left Agui-
niga’s studio, she piled a bunch in a chaotic
heap and took a photo. “I tend to think of
the objects I make as ‘he’ or ‘she,’ with per-
sonalities. A lot of that comes from Spanish,
how things have gender,” Aguiniga says,
referring to her first language. “And I
thought, this is the only time I’ve had this
many chairs together. What if they were
to get into a big bar fight?”
Fun is an essential ingredient in Agui-
niga’s work, but there are deeper meanings
at play. The felt chairs, it turns out, were
an expression of her identity as a Mexican-
American. If an institutional folding chair
symbolized, for her, an America that
at times seemed cold and impersonal
(“a huge generalization,” she acknowledg-
es), then its warm and fuzzy alter ego chan-
neled the tactile, familial exuberance of
Latino culture.
Born in San Diego to Mexican parents,
she was a U.S. citizen but grew up in Tijua-
na. From age 4 to 18, she was wakened
every weekday at 4 a.m., in time to be driv-
en across the border to the American side
and dropped off at her grandmother’s
house, arriving at school by 8. In the after-
noon, she would cross back home to Mexi-
co. The long treks and jarring cultural
contrasts “influenced my work, my person-
ality, every single aspect of what I do,”
Aguiniga says today. In this and other
ways, she gives new meaning to the term
“crossover artist.”
Though she thinks of herself primarily
as a furniture maker, her output runs the
gamut from rope jewelry to room-size
installations. She works in metal, fiber,
wood, clay, plastic - whatever suits her
purpose - using methods that range from
welding to weaving on a primitive back-
strap loom. She’s at home in the design and
craft communities, embraced by both the
museum and gallery establishment and the
DIY-indie crowd. All of this makes her hard
to label, but then labels don’t interest her.
“I never wanted to put myself in any type
of box,” she says. “There’s this thing that’s
stayed with me, of jumping back and forth
between cultures. You don’t even know
what you are and where you belong.”
Ultimately, however, her identity struggles
have proven liberating. “It’s nice, because
you’re able to float through a lot of
different worlds.”
Her talent and drive have earned Agui-
niga widespread respect. “Tanya is a true
artisan with a passion for materiality and
a deep understanding of not just good
design but also outstanding craftsmanship,”
says Mariah Nielson, curator at the San
Francisco Museum of Craft and Design.
Rosanne Somerson, head of furniture
design at Aguiniga’s alma mater, the
Rhode Island School of Design, praises her
“aesthetic virtuosity,” noting, “she’s not
wed to any particular material, but expertly
finds the right context for each idea.”
Gerard O ’Brien, who shows her work
alongside that of such California modem
masters as Peter Voulkos and Sam Maloof
at his Reform Gallery in Los Angeles, con-
siders her “one of the most creative people
I’ve ever been around - perpetually explor-
ing, taking on projects. She’s tireless.”
This spring, Aguiniga is busy all around
L.A. A t the Craft and Foik Art Museum,
050 american craft apr/may 11
www.downmagaz.com
Embrace Lounge
photos: Todd Beattie / Chair photos: David San Miguel
