Nery Gabriel Lemus, till October 12 in ‘Bagage Claim: Unpacking Immigrant Lives’ in District of Columbia Arts Center, Washington.
The Alphabet is full of characters, 2013.
About:
Nery’s work explores issues around race and family- not in the narrow sense, but in a broader sense that is ultimately about society’s role (or even responsibility) to advance human dignity. His art frequently attempts to identify parallels within cultures and question the division’s people have. Nery is interested in creating art that not only functions within the context of the white box but involves society or functions in a public context- he believes this to be essential to an artist working with social issues.
If your daughter ever, 2010.
Perhaps Nery’s biggest contention lies in the rationale that identity is fixed- that somehow we can fall into a category that is not susceptible to change as we encounter various cultures. That being said, he has allowed his art to become a vehicle for the documentation of a different model- a model that includes the hybrid and the initial point of conversation. Nery is also interested in mining cultural signifiers that produce familiar narrative spaces as opposed to being characterized by a particular formal style.
The Children actually had a hero, 2013.
A native of Southern California, Nery Gabriel Lemus was born in Los Angeles, in 1977. The subjects in his work range from issues of stereotype and immigration to problems in society that can lead to the failure of families, such as poverty, abuse and neglect. Lemus received his BFA at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California (2007) and his MFA at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California (2009). Lemus also attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine (2008).
You always liked their music, 2010.
His work has been featured is several group exhibitions including, OZ: New Offerings From Angel City at Museo Regional Guadalajara in Jalisco, Mexico, The Seventh House at Project Row Houses in Houston, Texas, the 2010 Border Art Biennial at El Paso museum in El Paso, Texas, El Grito, at The University of Arkansas in Little Rock, Arkansas, The Road to Hell is Paved, at La Cienegas Projects and The 5th International Standards Biennial at CECUT in Tijuana, Mexico. Lemus has also had solo shows at Steve Turner Contemporary and Charlie James Gallery in Los Angeles.
Thanks for the game, 2013.
Courtesy: The artist and Charley James Gallery Los Angeles.