In the works by the Californian artist Maria de Los Angeles joyful colorful forms abound as did in the artworks she admired by Frida Kahlo, Marc Chagall and Diego Rivera. Flowers and butterflies, plants and birds, fill her green naturalistic backgrounds But, Angeles’ works are not always about such subjects, she also paints a lot of community based political murals and is committed to issues such as undocumented immigrants. Recently she is focusing on wearable sculptures constructed from repurposed found materials whose surfaces have to do with “both internalized and social stereotypes. “They have to do according to the artist with ‘a celebration of biculturalism and a confrontation of these challenges.” Her partner Ryan Bonilla, who was born in the Philippines, is a multimedia artist but often uses photographic media with which to engage his concepts. Bonilla has lived in New York City since his early childhood and has been impacted by the dynamism of its art scene as well as its socio-cultural activities. His photographs capture the ephemerality of city life as well as its ambience, while trying to maintain its purity.
