Linda Arreola’s Abstract Wanderings From the LA Borderlands: 2020 -2023

“This body of work represents the years 2020 to 2023 when the only interaction with the outside world was through social media and television news. It was a period of intense introspection.These works bring my audience into my realm as I grappled with a world in turmoil while dealing with the complexities of living with a compromised loved one. During this time my work developed in new ways. It became more vocal. Words became important messengers, touching many social and personal topics. Letters became bold structural elements, taking on the form of glyphs and creating a strong indigenous design element. The Meso-american architectural influences in my work became more prevalent through the “stacking” of form to create complex compositions. Consequently, a hidden ancient cultural connection was made with present day events taking my work in a new direction.”

– Linda Arreola

“Linda Arreola’s most recent works – those created since thestart of the COVID-19 pandemic and featured in this exhibition – represent a major shift in her practice, and are some of the most confrontational paintings she has made to date. They are built from the same formal bones as her other works, the same precise edges and subtle textures, the crossing forms and stencil lettering. Yet whereas in the past these elements came together with the grace of a symphony, or the cool sophistication of experimental music, the new works are more unsettling and intentionally less harmonious.
Instead of the hopeful aspiration or spiritual contemplation of earlier works, these paintings are tuned into an anxious awareness of numbers, units, and amounts. Rather than meditate or swirl or come together, they triangulate, multiply, and accumulate. The lines begin to stack like bar graphs, drop, and climb like the stock exchange, or bleep like the inscrutable screens at the edge of a hospital bed. Phrases like EYE ON PRIZE and U LOST / I WON speak to the individualism and drive to compete that pervades every aspect of culture in the United States. Arreola’s compositions convey a mood of isolation so that even an implied moment of boxed in and broken up, fractured and divided. The paintings seem to say: we are as much disconnected from ourselves as from each other.
In the last couple of years, we have seen a growing interest in Latinx art from mainstream museums and galleries. It’s a good development, and on many days, one that inspires optimism in our ability to make things better, together. But in the face of Arreola’s newest works, there is a twinge of doubt. Where will all the money go? How long will it last? Does it bring us together, or exacerbate old wounds and divisions? The unsparing and unsentimental mood of Arreola’s paintings make us second guess any feelings of optimism or comfort and reminds us that we still have a very long way to go. It’s a good feeling, a useful one”
– Nicolas Orozco – Valdivia, Curator

We want to congratulate Linda Arreola for appearing on Hyperallergic’s 10 Art Shows to See in LA This July. We are eager to hear her thoughts on her upcoming Artist Talk and Catalog Signing on July 22, 2023. To see the list click here.