Celeste De Luna (born 1974) is an American Chicana visual artist, printmaker, and educator. She identifies as self-taught and is known for large-scale woodcut prints and fabric installations, focusing on capturing personal and collective experiences.[1]
De Luna lived in Illinois in her early life, and was raised in the lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas.[2] She is a second generation Tejana. In Texas, De Luna developed a deep connection to the cultural tapestry of the region. Her upbringing influenced her artistic vision, prompting her to explore themes related to life along the borderlands, identity, and migration in her work.
She graduated from the University of Texas–Pan American where she received her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree.[3] She teaches art at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Brownsville.[4]
Necrocitizen is a black and white woodcut print featured on the cover of the book entitled Fencing in Democracy by Miguel Diaz-Barriga and Margaret Dorsey. The image on this print has a skull representing De Luna's investigation of oppressive structures on brown bodies who are second-class citizens.[5]
BorderLand X-scapes is an art workshop whose main goal is to decolonize the border with a futuristic outlook highlighting indigenous populations.[6]
De Luna is the cofounder of Las Imaginistas. This socially engaged art collective contributes to various projects aiming to stimulate community dialogue and social awareness.[7] Las Imaginstas are in collaboration with professors from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley that highlights the mind and body of Brownsville and questions colonial ideology through the architecture of the city.[8] Las Imaginistas is a 2017 Artplace America Creative Placemaking grant and 2018 A Blade of Grass Fellows.[9]