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KARLA DIAZ

Insomnia

September 4 - October 30, 2021

Karla Diaz, La Tia y Don Francisco, 2021

Karla Diaz
La Tía y Don Francisco II, 2021
Acrylic on canvas
30 x 40 in.

Karla Diaz, My Sleeping Beauty II, 2021

Karla Diaz
My Sleeping Beauty II, 2021
Acrylic on canvas
40 x 30 in.

Karla Diaz, Balloon Legs II, 2021, Acrylic on canvas

Karla Diaz
Balloon Legs II, 2021
Acrylic on canvas
40 x 30 in.

Karla Diaz, That Fire II, 2021, Acrylic on canvas

Karla Diaz
That Fire II, 2021
Acrylic on canvas
40 x 30 in.

Karla Diaz, La Santa Muerte, Yo, y El Diablo, 2021, Watercolor and ink on paper

Karla Diaz
La Santa Muerte, Yo, y El Diablo, 2021
Watercolor and ink on paper
18 x 24 in.

Karla Diaz, Chess with Jens, 2021, Watercolor and ink on paper

Karla Diaz
Chess with Jens, 2021
Watercolor and ink on paper
18 x 24 in.

Karla Diaz, El Arbol y El Tragafuegos, 2021, Watercolor and ink on paper

Karla Diaz
El Arbol y El Tragafuegos, 2021
Watercolor and ink on paper
18 x 24 in.

Karla Diaz, Rebozo and Hijab, 2021, Watercolor and ink on paper

Karla Diaz
Rebozo and Hijab, 2021
Watercolor and ink on paper
18 x 24 in.

Karla Diaz, Trenzas (Braids), My Alter Ego, 2021, Watercolor and ink on paper

Karla Diaz
Trenzas (Braids), My Alter Ego, 2021
Watercolor and ink on paper
18 x 12 in.

Karla Diaz, Dona Chuy, the Healer, 2021, watercolor and ink on paper

Karla Diaz
Doña Chuy, the Healer, 2021
Watercolor and ink on paper
12 x 18 in.

Karla Diaz, Goodyear, 2021, Watercolor and ink on paper

Karla Diaz
Goodyear, 2021
Watercolor and ink on paper
12 x 18 in.

Karla Diaz, Eating Chapulines (Grasshoppers) with Cousin, 2021, Watercolor and ink on paper

Karla Diaz
Eating Chapulines (Grasshoppers) with Cousin, 2021
Watercolor and ink on paper
12 x 18 in.

Karla Diaz, Self Portrait with Toys, 2021, Watercolor and ink on paper

Karla Diaz
Self Portrait with Toys, 2021
Watercolor and ink on paper
14 x 11 in.

Karla Diaz, Fall of the Conquistador, 2021, Watercolor and ink on paper

Karla Diaz
Fall of the Conquistador, 2021
Watercolor and ink on paper
14 x 11 in.

Karla Diaz, We Too Have Dreams, 2021

Karla Diaz
We Too Have Dreams, 2021
Watercolor and ink on paper
14 x 11 in.

Lola La Trailera (Lola the Truck Driver), 2021, Watercolor and ink on paper

Karla Diaz
Lola La Trailera (Lola the Truck Driver), 2021
Watercolor and ink on paper
14 x 11 in.

Karla Diaz, Celso Pina y Celia Cruz Paletas Dream Shop, 2021

Karla Diaz
Celso Piña y Celia Cruz Paletas Dream Shop, 2021
Watercolor and ink on paper
14 x 11 in.

Karla Diaz, La Manda (The Offering), 2021, Watercolor and ink on paper

Karla Diaz
La Manda (The Offering), 2021
Watercolor and ink on paper
14 x 11 in.

Karla Diaz, Pollos La Estrella, 2021

Karla Diaz
Pollos La Estrella, 2021
Watercolor and ink on paper
14 x 11 in.

Karla Diaz, Tortilleria Leones and Grandpa, 2021, Watercolor and ink on paper

Karla Diaz
Tortilleria Leones and Grandpa, 2021
Watercolor and ink on paper
11 x 14 in.

Karla Diaz, La Cantina, 2021, Watercolor and ink on paper

Karla Diaz
La Cantina, 2021
Watercolor and ink on paper
11 x 14 in.

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia_Image 7

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia_Image 11

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia_Image 10

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia_Image 9

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia_Image 8

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia_Image 1

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia_Image 6

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia_Image 3

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia_Image 2

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia_Image 4

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia_Image 5

Installation view of Karla Diaz: Insomnia

Press Release

Luis De Jesus Los Angeles is very pleased to announce KARLA DIAZ: Insomnia, the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. The exhibition will be on view from September 4 through October 30, 2021, with an opening reception to be held on Saturday, September 18th from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Appointments are optional and may be made at luisdejesus.com/contact

Karla Diaz is a writer, teacher, and multidisciplinary artist who engages in painting, installation, video, and performance. Using narrative to question identity, institutional power, and explore memory, her socially engaged practice generates exciting collaborations and provokes important dialogue among diverse communities. Notably, she is the co-founder of the socially engaged collective and community artist space Slanguage. Critical discourse is central to her practice as she explores social, subcultural, and marginalized stories. 

Diaz’s latest body of work is the result of a year of insomnia. As a stroke survivor, she practices repetitive memory exercises, using drawing as a tool for excavating and retaining information. In her commitment to rendering a painting every night, Diaz turned to the unfiltered, spontaneous imagery that surfaced during her insomnia, whether dreams, fantasies, or memory. In her introspection, splashes of color became figures and objects that transformed into scenes of domesticity and city life drawn from her upbringing in Mexico and Los Angeles. Personal memories, folklore, familiar iconography of her Mexican heritage, and American pop culture are intertwined in surreal compositions that consider family, loss, and the complexities of the Latinx experience in the United States. As Diaz expresses, “these works reveal meaning in relation to others, to experience, to memory, to story, to dreams and dreamers, to imagination and to the larger context of home.”

Karla Diaz was born in Los Angeles, CA. She received an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts in 2003 and a BA from California State University Los Angeles in 1999. Her works have been exhibited nationally and internationally at the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA; LAXART, Hollywood, CA; Pitzer College, Claremont, CA; California State University Los Angeles, CA; San Jose Museum of Art, CA; Institute for Contemporary Art, Boston, MA; Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, IL; Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, MI; the Serpentine Gallery, London, U.K.; and Museo Case de Cervantes, Madrid, Spain.

She has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards from Art Matters, New York, NY; Tiffany Foundation, New York, NY; City of Los Angeles, CA; Riverside Art Museum, CA; and CalArts, Los Angeles, CA. Karla Diaz lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. 

For further information, including images and previews, please call 213-395-0762, or email: gallery@luisdejesus.com.

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