Meet me at the Boulevard, is a group exhibition highlighting the work of artists who have interconnected their involvement in Southern Californian car culture with their bodies of work. These artists have sought creative influence from their surrounding communities and their real life experiences. Their work is meant to bridge a gap between street subcultures and fine art. The work acts as conduit between the two worlds to create an open and honest dialogue about what it means to be from the streets of Los Angeles. These bodies of work could only have been made in this geographical location and by these artists. The essence of the work is reflective of that.
Jacqueline Valenzuela creates multimedia paintings that magnify her firsthand experiences as a women lowrider owner, fine artist and automotive painter in a community that has historically been male dominated. Mark Anthony Hocutt's training in the automotive industry as a custom painter has led him to create 70s style lowrider paint jobs on plexiglass that can ride the fine line between street art and fine art. Ashley Jennae Garcia is a nail artist who has been influenced by the imagery, nostalgia, and color palettes of the lowriding community; creating intricate nail art designs that women wear proudly. Jerry Peña creates multimedia paintings that are rooted in the various subcultures (such as hot rod culture) that molded his upbringing; resulting in works that merge imagery, texture and color reflective of these influences. Lastly, Jesse Jaramillo leans into sci-fi, Chicanismo, tattooing and lowrider culture to create pieces that act as curated pieces reflecting his past,present and future. As a group each individual artist holds an important pillar related to car culture. Meet me at the Boulevard, is a culmination of this group's love for their communities and the vast inspiration that lays in their everyday life.
ARTIST BIOS:
Jacqueline Valenzuela (b. 1997 East Los Angeles, CA) received a BFA in Drawing and Painting from California State University Long Beach (2019). Her work has been exhibited nationally, including the South Gate Museum, Mexic-Arte Museum, Marietta Cobb Museum of Art, The Mexican Center for Culture and Cinematic Arts of the Mexican Consulate, The Cheech – Riverside Art Museum, the Brand Library & Art Center, and Muzeo Museum. In 2023 she participated in the inaugural cohort of the Ellsworth Residency at ArtShare L.A. and has now served on the judges panel for the residency for the third and fourth cohorts. She is a 2023-2024 California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship Awardee for Los Angeles County. As well as one of the 2024-2025 Professional Artists Fellowship Awardees for Long Beach City Arts Council. Valenzuela is currently an artist in residence at Arts at Blue Roof in Los Angeles. In Fall of 2024 Jacqueline will have a solo show, “Con Safos, Con Fuerzas”, with the Bakersfield Museum of Art (BMoA).
Valenzuela is a multi-media artist whose practice is centered around depicting her personal experiences as well as the storytelling of other women who like her are in 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.
Mark Anthony Hocutt (b. 1995 Whittier, CA) is a kustom automotive painter that works primarily in the automotive industry restoring and customizing car builds while also creating kustom painted plexiglass or metal panels. Hocutt’s education in traditional airbrush and automotive paint was built through various mentorships outside of a traditional academic setting. He has exhibited his work nationally with Flatline Gallery, Munzon Gallery, and Motherling. Fall of 2024 he will have his debut solo exhibition, “Diamond in the Rough”, with Munzon Gallery.
Growing up near Whittier Blvd, Hocutt regularly experienced over-the-top patterned lowriders, hot rods, and restored classics. By the age of sixteen he had come to own his first project car, a 1984 El Camino, gifted to him by an uncle. Through years of hard work Mark’s admiration evolved into automotive building and customization. He would spend years and various apprenticeships learning the skills needed to mirror classic lowrider stylings from the 60s and 70s. By the age of twenty-five he became the owner of his own auto body shop that doubled as a creative space, The Kolor Studio.
East LA native, Ashley Garcia, is a custom paint nail artist. Growing up blocks away from the boulevard, her family, specifically her grandfather, enveloped her in the chopper and lowrider lifestyle. Present day she owns her own nail studio, Studio 93. Ashley has mixed her love for creating out of the box nail sets with her love of cruising. She incorporates similar techniques to those seen in lowrider paint jobs to her nail art. As a self made nail artist of 10 years, she has impacted the Chicano community unlike no other.
Most recently she has branched into the art world, displaying her nail sets as a form of installation. She has shown her work with Nunca Siempre for “Xicana Y Que”, Munzón Gallery for “Sitting on Chrome”, and The Clarke Estate for “Nuestra Vida”.
Jerry Peña (b. Los Angeles 1991) holds a Bachelor of Arts in Drawing and Painting from Cal State Long Beach. Recent exhibitions include Traditions, Muzeo Museum (Anaheim, CA, 2023-2024), Stranger At My Door, General Projects (Los Angeles, CA 2023), ans ROOTS/RAIZ, Brand Library (Glendale, CA 2023).
Peña explores what defines his cultural identity as a first generation Mexican American in his work. Jerry incorporates materials rooted in the manual labor jobs his parents have held since arriving in the country. Along with these materials Jerry also integrates found objects from flea markets and swap meets as well as items collected from his daily scavenging around the city of Los Angeles. These items stem from the various subcultures that have shaped his upbringing. American nostalgia, Kustom Kulture, and the Chicano experience all come together in conversation with art movements like Minimalism, Rasquachismo, and Abstract Expressionism to engulf the viewer in texture, color, and imagery that feel specific to a certain place and context.
Jesse Jaramillo is a multi-disciplinary artist hailing from the high desert of Lancaster, Ca. As a CSULB alumni, their work has served communities across the state, country, and internationally. Jesse has experience working with companies such as Tecate, Vogue, Dr.Martens, The California Endowment, and Frito Lay, to name a few. In between his daily work, he also organizes community art events aimed at introducing young artists to elder low-riders, and bridging a generational divide.
Jesse explores themes of Chicanismo, car culture, tattoo culture, and science fiction imagery to create tattoos, illustrations and paintings representing these worlds that inspire his work.
