Conceptually positioned in the borderlands between the United States and Mexico, ‘Hugo Crosthwaite: Caravan’ at Luis De Jesus deploys the languages of artistic and popular media to portray both the perils of the border and the humanity of those who must traverse it.

Luis De Jesus Los Angeles is pleased to announce that Grinnell College Museum of Art, Grinnell, Iowa recently acquired four works by artist Vian Sora.  The works included Eden I,2022, Eden II, 2022, River Bed, 2022, and Thirst, 2021.  Sora's work utilizes a synthesis of styles and iconography taken from both her native, modern and ancient Iraq and adopted cultures, along with a variety of techniques.

Hugo Crosthwaite's paintings, sculpture, and stop-motion videos in Caravan speak to the reality faced by migrants as they make the treacherous journey to the border in search of the American Dream.

"CCF is proud to support our Fellowship for Visual Artists fellows in their artistic careers and we celebrate their commitment to transforming communities through their work. Each of our fellows embody the future of arts in LA."

“Proud is a funny word because it can be taken out of context. I am proud of the things we’ve done. But what Hugo did was to show, in a very interesting, subtle way, how complicated it all was.”

“By relinquishing control of the paint itself and allowing it to work on the canvas, my work attains a measure of hope: if nothing is settled and determined, any outcome is still possible, thus I utilize vibrant contrasting colors set often on burnt or earth tones,”  she says.

Luis De Jesus is known for showing multiple qualitative exhibitions in one go; this gallery should be on your weekend must-sees. 

"November in Los Angeles brings us shows that highlight art’s role as both a reflection of everyday life and a force to help change our reality. An exhibition at Angels Gate Cultural Center showcases the multifaceted programs of the community-based Slanguage Studio."

"The spirograph galaxy of Rhythmic Inquisitions, an exhibition of works by June Edmonds at the Riverside Art Museum, unmercifully hypnotizes. Expanding boundaries, this 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship Recipient injects Aretha Franklin’s Respect (1967) into Abstract Expressionism."

Adornment | Artifact is a multi-venue art experience that celebrates ancient Nubia through contemporary art, events, and conversations. Housed at five sites across the city, Adornment ⏐ Artifact investigates how contemporary artworks made in Los Angeles by LA-based artists engage and express the traditions, objects and materials that shaped the cultures of the Nile River Valley. In conjunction with the Getty's exhibition Nubia: Jewels of Ancient Sudan, four contemporary artworks by Lauren Halsey, June Edmonds, Melvin Edwards, and Umar Rashid will be on view at the Getty Villa.

Lansdowne explores the various traditions of framing within the art historical canon – from the illusionism found in the murals of Pompeii, the realism of Flemish Renaissance painting, the techniques of American neoclassicism, and others.

Originally created by Chris Engman between 2002-2006, this is the first time this series of black and white photographs is being presented in Los Angeles. These works read differently now than when they were produced 15-20 years ago.

"Luis De Jesus Los Angeles began The Armory Show with a bang. With a compelling booth of newly created paintings by artists June Edmonds, Evita Tezeno, Vian Sora, Laura Krifka, and Nicolas Grenier, the gallery appeared to have one of the most visited booths at the fair. Within minutes of the opening, the gallery had sold work by Sora, Edmonds, and Tezeno."

"This makes an upcoming exhibition at the Frederick R. Weisman Museum at Pepperdine University in Malibu (an area well acquainted with fire) particularly poignant. “To Bough and to Bend,” a group show that takes the tree as its binding theme, opens at the museum later this month. Included in the exhibition is an image by Ken Gonzales-Day, a Los Angeles artist who has long tracked the history of Mexican American lynchings in the West, a history that leads him to the trees on which these murderous actions took place."

Over the past two decades, Engman has dedicated his art to understanding how images deceive the eye and the human need to make sense of visual perception. Engman’s photography, at first glance, appears normal, yet, under careful examination, viewers become aware of the optical illusion and begin to question the constructed image. Engman’s twenty-year practice is grounded in research and conceptual thought. He documents remnants of labor and the juxtaposition of human material and vast landscape through sculpture and photography.

Trees feature prominently in the origin stories of many world religions. Ancient history recounts how their shade and branches have been sites of contemplation, suffering, and renewal. Today, trees still speak: deep root systems form tangled webs of communication, blunt stumps nod to deforestation, and charred limbs attest to fires started by our own hands. First curated by Bridge Projects, a gallery that catalyzes interdisciplinary explorations of contemporary art, spirituality, and religious traditions, To Bough and To Bend explores these ecological issues through the work of 30 artists who look to religious and historic art practices to guide us back into fellowship with these old friends and the living world we share.

"It had everything in it, those shoes," said Huynh. "It's beautiful. It's strong. I wondered, 'Who walked in those shoes? Who were these women?' Leather was so symbolic of skin, of transforming suffering and scarring. The beautiful patterns and details of flora and flowers — I think flowers are very symbolic of women and fertility and also like an offering of apologies to the mothers."

The work consists of a slender disc of corten steel laid flat on the ground that bears the outlines of roses and a pair of praying hands. At night, it is illuminated from below. A pair of low benches offer a space for contemplation, and a low, curved wall features texts inspired by the women’s experiences: “If you speak English, they treat you one way,” reads one inscription. “If you don’t speak English, they treat you another way.”

Luis De Jesus Los Angeles is very pleased to present a virtual talk between New York artist Liz Collins and art historian Lex Morgan Lancaster. Liz Collins is a multi-media artist whose practice converges at the intersection of textile and fiber arts, painting, installation, and design. Lex Morgan Lancaster is a scholar, professor, and curator who focuses on queer, feminist, trans, and anti-racist visual and theoretical contributions to the field of contemporary art.

The National Portrait Gallery’s triennial Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition celebrates excellence in the art of portraiture. As the realization of a gift made by Virginia Outwin Boochever to the Smithsonian, both the competition and this exhibition demonstrate the power of one individual to make a transformative impact. The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today presents 42 portraits selected through an open call that garnered more than 2,700 entries from artists working across the United States and Puerto Rico. Karetzky's painting Toast, 2019 is currently on view in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery for The Outwin 2022: American Portraiture Today exhibition through February 26, 2023.

“This body of work is really meant to honor the invaluable work that female astronomers contributed to their field," Halloran said. "Without these discoveries we would be nowhere near where we are now in terms of being able to measure and understand the universe.”