AARON MAIER-CARRETERO

Luis De Jesus Los Angeles is very pleased to announce Aaron Maier-Carretero, the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. The exhibition will be on view from February 26 – April 9, 2022, with an opening reception to be held on Saturday, February 26, from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

Aaron Maier-Carretero’s narrative oil paintings dance between realism and caricature in their representation of the human form and condition as a way to understand and reconcile his relationship to latinidad, whiteness, Jewishness, and maleness. He delves into his own family as a source of inspiration, interrogating the occurrences of his upbringing, tapping into personal memories, journals, and photographs to critically examine the way in which his family has bought into a belief that to be white (or close to it) is to be more important, more beautiful, and worthy of love.

His goal is to expose and challenge problems such as domestic violence, physical abuse, racism, and self-hatred that proliferate unchecked for generations behind the carefully constructed facade of suburbia. In his work, moments of tenderness co-exist with tension and unease. For Maier-Carretero, painting serves as a means of self-awareness that ultimately results in a greater sense of self-acceptance.