I met Julian Bermudez at his gallery, Bermudez Projects, a spare, light-filled space in the Cypress Park area of Northeast Los Angeles. Bermudez was attired in art-world black and sported a thin, pointed mustache. He was bright, energetic and articulate. He started out by explaining, “I am a curator who believes in art and the artists who make it. I believe their art has the power to shape the world.” Later, he added, “I want to make the world a better place. I believe the artists and their supporters share that ideology. I want to democratize art so everyone feels they have access to it. I have a responsibility to the art, the artists, their vision—I want to shift the paradigms of the orthodoxy, to change who gets to be written into the canon and who doesn’t.”

Julian Bermudez at his Cypress Park gallery, © 2020 John S. Rabe. Courtesy of Bermudez Projects, Los Angeles. All rights reserved.

Bermudez is an independent curator and gallerist who manages two exhibition locations: one in Downtown Los Angeles, and one in Cypress Park (NELA). He was born in Los Angeles to a Mexican immigrant mother and a carpenter father. Both parents were “ardent advocates of education.” Bermudez’ mother wanted him to go to medical school or get a law degree, and his father was adamant that his son not end up working with his hands. But Bermudez was drawn to art.

As a youth, Bermudez realized the neighborhood he grew up in (South LA, Huntington Park and South Gate) weren’t open to queer culture and he didn’t fit in. He escaped into his schoolwork. His first visual culture interests were comic books and fashion. In the end, he went to UCLA, and got a degree in art history. While at UCLA, he studied with Cecelia Klein and Shifra Goldman, noted scholars who wrote about Latin American and Chicano art.

Julian Bermudez with pet Connor, © 2020 John S. Rabe. Courtesy of Bermudez Projects, Los Angeles. All rights reserved.

After receiving his undergraduate degree, Bermudez continued his education with a remarkable series of projects. In 1999, he assisted Elizabeth Cameron at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art on “The Musical Arts of Africa” exhibition. The following year, he completed the Museum Studies Program at the Fowler Museum. Then he worked at the Pacific Asia Museum (PAM) for six years. One of his PAM projects was “The Samurai Re-imagined, from Ukiyoe to Anime” (2008–09). He invited animation students from Cal State Northridge to create short films on the topic. He then invited the director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to judge the films and present awards to the outstanding entries. The following year (2009–10), Bermudez worked with Pacific Islander students from UCLA to re-interpret the Pacific Island collection of the Pacific Asia Museum.

David Weidman “Figure 8”

At about that time (2010), Bermudez organized his first pop-up exhibition. Conceived for the Design Within Reach retail store in Pasadena, the pop-up featured the work of mid-century illustrator and animator David Weidman. He wanted to hold a second pop-up at a TV repair store—to feature photographs of discarded television sets by John S. Rabe—but the store never responded so Bermudez opened his first bona fide gallery in DTLA..

John S. Rabe “The Vast Wasteland” installation shot.

John S. Rabe, Untitled 1614, 2010. Edition of 10. Digital photograph printed on Fujifilm paper, 5 x 5 inches. © 2010 John S. Rabe. Courtesy of the artist and Bermudez Projects, Los Angeles.

Intrigued by the possibilities of exhibitions in alternative venues, Bermudez found a small space (only about 360 square feet) on the eighth floor of the ANJAC Fashion Building on 9th Street between Broadway and Main. He decided to support emerging talent there and introduced a new wave of artists. The DTLA exhibitions featured one-person shows for Amanda Beckmann, Enrique Castrejon, Gordon Henderson, among others. Bermudez also programmed a “Chicano Art Exhibit” which paired established artists Gronk, Frank Romero and Patssi Valdez, with relative newcomers Enrique Castrejon and Sonia Romero.

By 2012, Bermudez decided to do an “anniversary” exhibition, featuring artists who had been in previous shows. He called it “Spaceland: Los Angeles, Vast, Light, Modern” and asked the artists to submit works that responded to any of those descriptors as they relate to the City of Angels. Bermudez was thrilled with the result. “Spaceland,” he said, “was a postcard of love to the city I was born in.”

Ana Serrano “Homegrown” installation shot.

Two years later, he flipped the conceptual theme to the dystopian. “Spaceland II: Escape from Spaceland” included work that had a darker palette and was “void of any sense of optimism.” After that show’s success, he realized he had developed a biennial concept: To trace a narrative about the ever-shifting city in which he (and the artists) lived and worked. “I want to present the most dynamic artists of our generation. I believe in them and want them to feel like there’s a home for them. My role is to serve as a bridge, so the museums will see that they matter.” As it happens, the day after our interview, Bermudez sent me an announcement from LACMA: The museum had just acquired Homegrown, a major installation from Ana Serrano, one of the gallery artists. Obviously, his process is working.

“Ghetto Gloss” installation shot.

Bermudez Projects has received numerous professional acknowledgements. His “Ghetto Gloss” exhibition of the Chicana avant-garde was included in the Getty’s Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA initiative (2017/18). Bermudez included women who had shifted their perspectives and moved beyond the historic preoccupations of the Chicano Movement. Participants included Judy Baca and Judith Hernandez.

 

“Building Bridges” installation shot.

 

Independent exhibitions continue to be part of Bermudez’ portfolio. Recently, he worked with the AltaMed Health Services Corporation and the Embassy of Mexico in the United States to create “Before the 45th, Action/Reaction in Chicano and Latino Art” in December 2017. Bermudez selected art from the AltaMed collection for display in the Mexican Cultural Institute of Washington DC. Chicanos from Carlos Almaraz to Jaime “Germs” Zacarias were represented in groupings that highlighted Affirmation, Celebration, and Resistance (among others). A second project with AltaMedHealth Services, “Building Bridges in Time of Walls: Chicano/Mexican Art from Los Angeles to Mexico City,” was co-sponsored by Mexico’s Bellas Artes. The exhibition includes the work of Los Angeles artists Carlos Almaraz, Frank Romero, Patssi Valdez, Salomon Huerta, Ana Serrano, Patrick Martinez, Ramiro Gomez, Gary Garay, Shizu Saldamando, Yolanda Gonzalez, Roberto Gil de Montes, Cindy Santos Bravo, Judithe Hernandez, Jose Ramirez, ASCO and John Valadez. Touring since 2018, “Building Bridges” has appeared in Mexico City, Morelia, Monterrey, Acapulco, Oaxaca, and Guadalajara, and has attracted over 100,00 viewers. It was scheduled to open in Tijuana later this year, but has been postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leticia Maldonado, “Pareidolia” at Bermudez Projects Gallery.

 

Julian Bermudez continues his remarkable success as gallerist, curator, publisher and writer. The day I spoke with him, there was an exhibition of the neon and mirror work of Leticia Maldonado in his Cypress Park gallery. Every single piece bore a red dot. The show had sold out on opening night—a truly extraordinary accomplishment in this ever-fluctuating art market.