Frank Romero USA, b. 1941

Recuerdo, which translates to remembrance, is a large-scale, oil on canvas work that harmonizes Romero's cinematic narrative with color along with his habitual iconography of cars, hearts, cowboys, and more. Since the start of his artistic career, Romero has been interested in the importance of community-based murals and graffiti, noting that this type of public art is a way of communicating ideas. Through this ability to communicate with the public, Romero was fearless in experimenting with color, fueled by the cultural density of the community that surrounded him, “In my training, I was told that purple is the opposite of yellow and all of that stuff, but you know, I don’t use that as a theory; I just react instinctively to how I feel. It’s emotional,” explains Romero in an interview with the Smithsonian American Art Museum for the exhibition Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art (2013-14). Additionally, the singing cowboy in the center calls towards Romero’s fond memories of listening to folk music with fellow Los Four member Carlos Almaraz, commenting on the ideas that arose from musical artists such as Woody Guthrie and Cisco Houston. - Oral history interview with Frank Romero, 1997, January 17-March 2. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.