A show in the Bay Area features artwork inspired by Cheetos' best-selling Flamin' Hot Flavor. See Spicy Takes Here

A finger-licking exhibit devoted to the beloved Flamin’ Hot flavor of Cheetos has debuted at Gallery 1202 in the Bay Area, just as a new biopic about the snack’s alleged inventor hits the platform streaming Hulu.

Ruben Dario Villa, a 35-year-old graphic designer for Apple and Google, hosted the show, simply titled “Flaming hotabout a product he says conveys feelings of nostalgia so strong it brings people together at a time of heightened division in the United States.

“I think nostalgic connection points are things we can all have in common,” he told Artnet News.

Dario Villa said the inspiration for the exhibit came from thinking about the first time he tried Flamin’ Hot Cheetos when he was nine years old.

“My mom was a health and recycling freak before it was a thing and tasked me with bringing tortillas from the grocery store,” he said. “I was like, ‘ooh, I’m going to be crafty and buy Flaming Hot Cheetos and tortillas in two separate transactions.'”

Dario Villa, laughing, added that he forgot to buy the snacks separately and started eating the Cheetos on his way home from the store. “I thought I could scrape the Hot Cheetos off the receipt with my Cheeto-dusted fingers, but my mom, worried I’m taking too long to get home, walks into the supermarket and literally catches me in the act.”

Dario Villa said he built the exhibit around that experience, expressing it in what he called a “Chicano-style interpretation of pop culture to tap into that source of unease that we have as collective”. He was already working on a piece inspired by his youth and using Flamin’ Hot Cheetos dust when he was invited by the gallery to curate the exhibition.

“I started it on a whim because I love hot Cheetos,” he said of the artwork.

Installation view of “Flamin’ Hot” at Galerie 1202. Photo courtesy of Rubén Dario Villa.

Dario Villa says the gallery was ‘confused’ when he spoke about his plans for a Hot Cheetos-themed show, but the offer to host a show came at the perfect time with the release of the Hulu film , Flaming hot.

“I’m first generation, my parents are immigrants from Mexico, and I’m kind of at the intersection of American culture,” he said. “So it’s like an insider-outsider perspective that’s very much informed by Andy Warhol’s historical artistic background.”

Dario Villa said he was inspired by artists who “have a sense of humor” and made an open call for the show on social media because he didn’t want to expose artists “too much”. established” for his fun themed show.

In the end, more than 50 artists submitted with approximately 26 selected for the show with a mix of mediums – ranging from Lorena Cortez’s sculpture of a Cheetos bag temptingly emptied into a bowl, to the painted reimagining of Hey Ruca of Cheetos Chester Cheetah mascot, to Hortencia Martín. skate board with telltale signs of dust from Cheetos,

“There’s a still life of Hot Cheetos that is so beautiful,” said Dario Villa.

The entertainer said the show opened with a street fair vibe, not “the traditional charcuterie and wine vibe,” with food trucks and plant vendors. At the end of the day, he hopes Richard Montañez, the alleged creator of the spicy snack, will be fine by the show’s close on August 12.

See more images from the show below.