Blossom brings together photographer Valerie J Bower, artists Emilia Cruz, Tania Lopez, Ana Morales, Ruby Osorio, and Jacqueline Valenzuela.
VALERIE J. BOWER is a Los Angeles based photographer. Her dream-like, monochrome street photography show a softer, feminine point of view on typically masculine themes and subjects. Focusing on BIPOC, she documents various street cultures and everyday life, primarily in Los Angeles. She has also explored the influences of West Coast and lowrider culture in other parts of the U.S., Japan, and Mexico. Her work also includes a collection of self-published books, zines, and other printed items such as letter writing and postcard sets. In 2017, Valerie’s photography book “Homegirls” was archived into the Thomas J. Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
EMILIA CRUZ is an artist based in Simi Valley, Ca. She was born in San Diego, Ca, while both of her parents were born and raised in different regions of Mexico. Her artwork pays homage to these roots through her use of bright and vivid color palettes. Many of her paintings celebrate familiar faces and feel as if they are placed in other-wordly settings.
JACQUELINE VALENZUELA is a multi-media artist whose practice is centered around her experiences as a woman within the Chicano world of lowriding. Her art practice reflects the deep roots she has planted in the lowrider community by bridging the gap between fine art and this underrepresented community.
TANIA LOPEZ is an aspiring 17 year old artist based in East Los Angeles, CA. Her art practice is acrylic paint on canvas. Her artwork centers around East Los Angeles's rich Chicano culture, focusing particularly on vendedores such as eloteras who are constantly criminalized for making a living. Her art aims to bring light to underrepresented Latinx community and celebrate it's beauty. She is of first generation, and pays homage to her parent's heritage, who were both born and raised in Puebla México.
ANA MORALES is an artist living and working in Los Angeles, CA. She completed her BA in Fine Arts from Cal State University Los Angeles in 2014. Her work explores nostalgic memories from her Mexican American upbringing and issues in femininity. Currently she is working on two bodies of work where she is exploring Barbie’s identity and painting Vedettes in Mexican cinema from the 70’s and 80s.
RUBY OSORIO lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Her drawings, paintings, and ceramic sculptures draw from a variety of sources - botanical drawings, photographs, and literary references - in an examination of the relationship between memory and fantasy. Her work has been exhibited locally and internationally in New York, London, Tokyo, Mexico City, Puerto Rico, and Athens, Greece. Solo exhibitions include Story of A Girl ( Who Awakes Far and Away) at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis and Laguna Art Museum, and three solo exhibitions at Cherry and Martin Gallery in Los Angeles. Her work has been reviewed by Art on Paper,Los Angeles Times and Washington Post among other publications and resides in notable permanent collections such as the Eileen Norton Foundation, the UBS Art Collection, and the Hammer Museum.
