Stepping into the realm of Ozzie Juarez’s paintings at his exhibition, “OXI-DIOS,” is akin to entering a bustling industrial cityscape, where citizens are invited to gather around modern homages to the illustrious tradition of Mexican murals. Juarez, a torchbearer with a paintbrush and airbrush, depicts various references from contemporary pop culture to mythic scenes from classical painting and pre-colonial times on fabricated, rusted metal gates with welded barbed wire along the top of each work. Rooted in a revolutionary spirit, each object has an unmistakable sense of energy, whether it resembles a neighborhood advertisement, a larger-than-life popular Hallmark card or reclamation of power through wild horses rising up. At the heart of Juarez’s work, there is a deep reverence aimed at fostering a sense of collective identity. In Zayayin (2024), the title of the work is airbrushed behind two painted figures, a dark-hair brunette female sleeping on a knobby rock with a kneeling pre-Columbian dancer by her side. The dancer’s eyes are closed, perhaps dealing with a loss while the bold blue, white and yellow text nods to an iconic transformational process in Dragon Ball Z where a character obtains greater power. In a world characterized by perpetual change, this fusion of old and new creates a dialogue between past and present while inviting viewers to investigate the evolving nature of Mexican identity and culture.

Charlie James Gallery
969 Chung King Road,
Los Angeles, CA
On view through March 2, 2024