Marcus Xavier Chormicle
October 2023
Marcus Xavier Chormicle is a lens-based artist from the Southwestern region of the US. He uses his work to focus on family, memory, and the intersection of class, race, and history in the Southwest. He received a Bachelor of Journalism with a minor in Digital Marketing and Studio Art from the Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University, Phoenix. He recently returned home to Las Cruces, New Mexico, to work as an artist and focus on community engagement and education. In 2020 he founded the CAV Gallery (Cristian Anthony Vallejo Memorial Gallery), an art space in downtown Las Cruces. In September 2021, he curated the inaugural group show, titled Tú Eres Tú, which brought together a group of predominately Indigenous and Latinx artists around the theme of cyclical narratives within family units. The show fell on the one-year anniversary of the death of his little cousin Cristian, after whom the gallery is named, as well as the two-year anniversary of the murder of his uncle Punky. Chormicle uses his work to hold space for his family and assert their inherent value through art. The gallery furthered this goal by maintaining a physical space of reverence for them and others who choose to participate. Chormicle works as an organizer and digital marketing specialist with local art institutions, such as the Fine Art Flea Market, NMSU Art Museum, Picacho Arts District, and The Hood New Mexico.