The Closing Reception of Egg Tooth by Araceli Zuniga

Egg Tooth by Araceli Zuniga Slemmons Gallery Sunday, December 13th, 2026 Our promise for a future feels threatened. The inclination towards self reflection has turned to rumination. Optimism is now a fantasy. During periods of instability, I seek out second chances and wonder if another world is possible. Childhood is a time in our lives where world building is instinctive. Freedom is understood as a birthright. In the same vein, through the maturation process, birds go from fledge to flight. Both are studies in becoming: the awkward, tender, sometimes unruly process of growing into oneself. Somewhere between these gestures a power shift happens. Tucked beneath these moments of vulnerability are glimmers of strength. Egg Tooth denotes nostalgia as a reclamation of agency. Whether through leaps of faith, self awareness, or rebellion, retributions must be made. This is important given the urgency in negotiating our own cultural moment as we watch and participate in the global waves of social unrest marked both by promise and precarity, hope and indignity. Ultimately, my intention is to confront the ways oppression has bled into national identity and defy its imposed limitations. Araceli Zuniga is a Mexican-American artist based in the midwest whose work is defined by intimacy and play. Through expansive materiality, Zuniga uses child-like qualities to encourage a reflective process as a mediation between self and others. Zuniga’s work has been featured at Crosswalk, Tala, FLXST, Povos, and Genesis galleries, respectively. They were a member of the Underbelly collective based in Madison, WI, as well as the LUNA collective in Milwaukee, WI. Zuniga completed a fellowship at the BlackPaint Studios’ Creative Leadership Program in Milwaukee followed by a growing collaboration with Communication, a Madison-based nonprofit dedicated to fostering a vibrant creative community. After receiving their bachelor’s degree at SAIC, they completed a residency with Chuquimarca, an art library project based in Chicago and attended ACRE, a cooperative residency based in Steuben, Wisconsin. Zuniga is currently a resident at Parlour and Ramp located in West Pilsen, Chicago and a Programs & Development Support Manager at Chicago Art Department.