Painter Manuel López expresses himself in a vibrant, vital vernacular inspired by the details that color community life in his native Los Angeles. From the intimate objects and emotional poetics of collected personal treasures, to energetic picnic party tabletop tableaux, to syncopated shapes across urban landscapes and gathering places, López lavishes his painterly attentions on the sites and senses he encounters each day. He begins each work with a detailed observational drawing, and those foundations of shape and line remain even as the images are augmented with rich hues that reach into realism and imaginative abstraction. His evolved style contains traces of influences ranging from cartoons and illustrations to Hockney and art history—but its foundations remain the soul of everyday life in a place he loves. An exhibition of his new work is on view now at Charlie James Gallery in Chinatown.

L.A. WEEKLY: What is your short answer to people who ask what your work is about?

MANUEL LOPEZ: My work is about looking, letting something captivate me, drawing it, and then making a painting out of that.

 

What would you be doing if you weren’t an artist?

If I wasn't  an artist I think I would be a gardener working in huge gardens with lots of shade, or a janitor working the graveyard shift in a big warehouse. I like the idea of just being alone and working.

 

Did you go to art school? Why/Why not?

As a kid I always wanted to take art classes but I never did. When I turned 18, I attended East Los Angeles College. I signed up for general education courses and also signed up for a drawing class. After some years at ELAC I got enough units to transfer to The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and graduated from there. I took art classes and went to art school because I wanted to be submerged in a creative, fertile field and of course to learn about the process of art making, its history, and its applications within the world.

Why do you live and work in L.A., and not elsewhere?

I was born and raised in East LA/Boyle Heights. I left for three years to study in Chicago, I came back, and it has never felt more like home.

 

When was your first show?

My first show was at the Vincent Price Art Museum at ELAC in 2005 for a student art show; I showed a couple of drawings.

 

When is/was your current/most recent/next show or project?

My most current show is right now! Stepping into the Light; it opened on September 30th at the Charlie James Gallery and will run until November 4th. Go see it!

Do you listen to music while you work? If so, what? 

I listen to random music and podcasts. As of recently I've been listening to DANCNG SOBR which is a podcast my good friend Rafa Cardenas produces, where he sits and interviews local community creatives.

 

Website and social media handles, please!

IG: @meaunl_lpoez






/Editor's note: The disclaimer below refers to advertising posts and does not apply to this or any other editorial stories.