Tandem Press: Christie Tirado – Grabando Historias Exhibition
March 10 - April 4
Tandem Press is pleased to host Grabando Historias, a Master of Fine Arts Qualifier Exhibition by Christie Tirado, University of Wisconsin-Madison MFA Candidate and 2024-2025 Tandem Press Studio Project Assistant. Drawing from her own experience as the daughter of Mexican immigrants, Christie Tirado uses relief block printing to bring visibility to often overlooked narratives of immigrant families. Her work preserves personal and collective histories, capturing transnational migration stories while honoring the labor and sacrifices of those who have shaped communities across borders.
For additional information, please contact J Myszka Lewis (Curator), or Sona Pastel-Daneshgar (Curator) at info@tandempress.wisc.edu or 608-263-3437.
Reception: March 14, 5:00pm – 8:00pm
On View: March 10-April 4, 2025
Gallery Hours: Wednesday-Friday, 10:00 am-4:00 pm
Artist Biography
Tirado earned her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, and her Master’s in Teaching from Heritage University in Toppenish, WA. She is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Her accolades include the 2020 Larry Sommers Fellowship through Seattle Print Arts and the 2020 Golden Apple Award for innovative teaching in Washington State. She is also an Education Graduate Research Scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her artwork has been exhibited and collected nationally in museums and galleries such as Davidson Galleries in Seattle, WA; San Francisco State University, CA; Sonoma State University, CA; The Sun Valley Museum of Art, ID; and La Productora Gráfica del Bosque in Oaxaca, Mexico, among others. Additionally, her work has been featured in prominent news outlets and magazines nationwide, including High Country News, ProPublica, and Crosscut.
Previously, Tirado worked as an elementary and middle school art teacher in the Yakima Valley, WA, for eight years. She is currently a project assistant at Tandem Press.
Artist Statement
A veces, stories emerge in the quiet moments—while my father peels the skin of a granada, or as I kneel beside my grandfather, pressing maíz into the soil. These moments hold more than what is seen—they carry historias and memories of the many tierras my family has tended, plowed, and left behind to cultivate new ones across borders.
In my work, I explore the intersection of personal and collective narratives, recognizing that every historia is part of a larger historical framework. Grabando Historias investigates the relationship between stories and histories—what is preserved and what is omitted, whose voices are heard, and whose are forgotten. The term “grabando” means both to record and to engrave, while “historias” refers to both stories and histories. This dual meaning mirrors how narratives exist in two states: some are carefully documented, while others become deeply etched into our identities through lived experiences. Just as relief printmaking involves carving marks and removing material from a surface, the stories we tell leave lasting impressions on how we understand ourselves and the world around us. What remains becomes a historia o memoria, while the act of removal reflects the gaps, silences, and omissions that shape what is recorded or lost.
By focusing on both presence and absence, my work reflects on how these historias shape cultural memory and our sense of self, revealing how every narrative is defined as much by what is recorded as by what is left out.
Declaración de la Artista
A veces, las historias emergen en los momentos de quietud—mientras mi padre pela la piel de una granada, o cuando me arrodillo junto a mi abuelo, sembrando maíz en la tierra. Estos momentos contienen más de lo que se ve—cargan historias y recuerdos de las muchas tierras que mi familia ha cultivado, arado y dejado atrás para trabajar otras nuevas al cruzar fronteras.
Mi trabajo, explora la intersección entre las narrativas personales y colectivas, reconociendo que cada historia es parte de un marco histórico más amplio. Grabando Historias investiga la relación entre cuentos y la historia—lo que se preserva y lo que se omite, las voces que se escuchan y las que se olvidan. El término “grabando” significa tanto documentar cómo grabar, mientras que “historias” se refiere tanto a relatos como a la historia. Este doble significado refleja cómo las narrativas existen en dos estados: algunas se documentan cuidadosamente, mientras que otras quedan profundamente grabadas en nuestras identidades a través de las experiencias vividas. Así como el grabado en relieve implica tallar marcas y eliminar material de una superficie, las historias que contamos dejan impresiones en cómo nos entendemos a nosotros mismos y al mundo que nos rodea. Lo que permanece se convierte en una historia o memoria, mientras que el acto de eliminar refleja las ausencias, silencios y omisiones que moldean lo que se documenta o se pierde.
Al centrarme tanto en la presencia como en la ausencia, mi trabajo reflexiona sobre cómo estas historias configuran la memoria cultural y nuestro sentido de identidad, revelando cómo cada narrativa está definida tanto por lo que es documentado y por lo que es omitido.