Detrás de Nosotros Estamos Ustedes: Behind Us We Are You
Atlan Arceo-Witzl
October 31st - December 12th, 2025
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 1st, 4:-00-6:00PM
How might a public-facing commercial space be used to serve the voices of common people? A storefront that no longer sells products but instead tells stories of resistance. A place to pull up a chair and commune with neighbors. An autonomous printshop built to express dreams, ideals, and play. Each window display declares, “people over profit!” The collective of characters known as the Chican@ Mythmakers live in a hybrid world of the ancient-now where they speak of truth, dignity, and self-determination. Détras de Nosotros Estamos Ustedes reflects on the power of culture. The artist draws inspiration from liberatory political graphics, cultural ephemera of the Midwest, and the rich mythistory of marginalized people. In the face of societal tumult and rising American fascism, there are many roles to play in dismantling hierarchical systems of domination. ¡Manos a la obra!
About the Artist:
Atlan Arceo-Witzl is a mixed-race Chicanx visual artist, creator, and educator based in Chicago, IL. He received his Bachelor's degree in Studio Art from Skidmore College with concentrations in printmaking, drawing, and sculpture. In addition to his daily work as a shop tech and educator at Columbia College Chicago, he maintains his own art and freelance graphic design practices collaborating with various organizations. He is an active member of the Chicago Printers Guild as well as Instituto Gráfico de Chicago, a collective of Latinx printmakers from across the city.
His work is driven by a foundational urge to draw whilst working to redefine midwestern identity and place as a hybrid ancient-contemporary-nowness. Being a second generation printmaker and a third generation educator influences his use of graphic forms in the relief print tradition while also instigating a curiosity in print process and ephemera. He is intrigued by everyday rituals, icons, symbols, totemic objects, communication, and translation. Not only are these things records of ourselves, but of culture, beliefs, and our multitudes of being. The political heritage of print media as well as the vibrant soul of the Chicago Imagists fuel his practice. A satirical cartoon style infused with the flattened aesthetics of mesoamerican and Mexican folk art are employed alongside an admiration for hand-painted signs. His work synergizes elements of image and text in moments of humorous mestizaje. Passing phrases, political movements, and palpable relics of the past, are reimagined towards a liberated future for all.