San Antonio Museum of Art hosting retrospective of Chicana artist Amalia Mesa-Bains

“The Archaeology of Memory,” which runs through Jan. 12 at the San Antonio Museum of Art, represents the first major retrospective of visual artist Amalia Mesa-Bains’ oeuvre, which spans more than 45 years. The San Juan Bautista, California-based artist, curator and cultural critic is considered a pioneer, particularly in her use of traditional ofrendas (altars or offerings to the dead), descansos (roadside resting places) and capillas (home yard shrines) in a contemporary art context.