In late August and early September we teamed up with Leslie Lopez to publish three new prints for her upcoming solo exhibit at EastSide Arts Alliance in East Oakland. Leslie has been a graffiti writer and a teacher with Visual Element and in several Oakland high schools. We first began mentoring Leslie in 2010 along with Natalia from Xochitlceive when we published a series of five prints in Spring of 2010. Over the past year Leslie has worked in the studio with me, mixing and matching colors for many prints and improving her understanding of the medium. We are really happy with the new prints and can’t wait to see her new paintings in the exhibit.
Reception: Saturday, September 24, 2011, 6-10pm
Exhibit will run from Sept. 20th-Nov. 1st 2011
BREATHE: Suspiro Para Vivir features the artwork of the versatile East Oakland Xicana artist and educator, Leslie “DYME” Lopez. In her highly anticipated debut solo exhibition, 24 year old Lopez bridges graffiti and fine art worlds through her multimedia narrative. This new collection of prints, paintings and installations are meditations on individual and collective suffering, healing and cultural resistance in East Oakland, through the eyes of one young brown person. Guided by spirituality and grounded in community, this show includes collaborations with Dignidad Rebelde and Xochitlceive. Deep rooted in family values, Lopez displays a call to action for personal and community healing through her dynamic art. BREATHE-Suspiro Para Vivir invites the community to enter the mind and heart of the artist as she confronts hopelessness surrounding her and transforms pain into beautiful meaning, summoning the strength to resist, thrive, breathe.