The paintings and photography of local artist, Yesenia Cachu, will be featured at the Art Box Gallery. Photo courtesy of Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture

MARYSVILLE, CA (MPG) – In keeping with a long-established tradition, Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture throws open the doors at its Sutter Theater Center for the Arts each month and welcomes into its Art Box Gallery a guest artist to showcase their work. At this free event, the paintings and photography of local artist, Yesenia Cachu, will be featured. 

Come celebrate this artist and arts educator and experience her varied, multi-disciplinary work. The show’s opening reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. March 7 in the Gallery at 754 Plumas St. in Yuba City. In addition to a wide variety of thought-provoking art, this event features interesting people, great conversation, and free appetizers and drinks. The artist will talk about her work and what inspires her to create.

La Catrina by Yesenia Cachu. Photo courtesy of Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture

Cachu was born in La Ladera, Michoacan, Mexico in 1988. Her parents immigrated to California when she was two years old. She was raised in the Yuba-Sutter area but found growing up in a Mexican household in America an enigma. Cachu struggled to fit into the expectations of American social norms while battling to hold on to her Mexican culture. She worked hard at trying to assimilate, prove she was a patriot to this country by celebrating its traditions, correcting her accent, appearance, hobbies, and even the music she listened to, as well as the language she spoke.

“Suppressing my roots is what I learned to do as a kid,” Cachu said.

Shown here is “Truckee Tunnels” by Yesenia Cachu. Photo courtesy of Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture

“It wasn't until my late 20s that I learned to heal parts of myself that were suppressed. As I began my spiritual and emotional healing journey, I slowly found my vision and voice,” Cachu said. “Now, fully immersed in my 30s, I’ve explored many parts of my Mexican roots, including the music, language, and stories from elders, especially those from my late grandfather. These collections of artworks combine different moments. I have felt inspired by my visits back home to La Ladera, Michoacan, Mexico, and was profoundly inspired by my grandfather.”

Cachu’s art has become a part of her identity, her history, creating a timeline of her journey which she says is still forming. She presents these personal experiences and specifically those that are connected to memories of her grandfather. Cachu believes in the restorative practice of diving into obstacles and taking these life lessons as opportunities to learn and grow.

El Viejo by Yesena Cachu. Photo courtesy of Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture

She advises us to “Sink into your experiences, explore your roots, and get to know yourself again.”

The Art Box Gallery is located inside the Sutter Theater Center for the Arts. The reception will also celebrate the work of four Anchor Artists. Emily Cordi loves to create from recycled and foraged materials. She is inspired by the wildlife, nature, agriculture, and countryside of the Sutter Buttes near her family’s winery. Laurie Trent-Butsch creates jewelry from vintage China in 2019 and started working with vintage silverware in 2020. She discovered a passion for working with unwanted, neglected silverware, bringing these pieces back to life as beautiful, wearable pieces of art that can convey stories of family and love. See original works of art created by former high school welding instructor turned metal sculpture artist, Dude Green, alongside Navy Veteran and retired arts educator, master ceramist Drew Sallee. 

La Fresa by Yesenia Cachu. Photo courtesy of Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture

Your purchase of a work of original art helps support the artists as well as Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture.  For additional information about this exhibition and the reception, contact Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture at [email protected].

Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide arts programming, education, advocacy, assistance, and service to artists, organizations, and residents of Yuba and Sutter Counties. The local affiliate for Yuba and Sutter of the California Arts Council, its programs include Arts in Education, Veterans Initiatives in the Arts, Arts in Corrections, Very Special Arts Festival, Convergence Theater Company, Center Stage Productions, the Yuba Sutter Big Band, and Yuba Sutter Youth Choir.