Ozzie Juarez, even at his young age, is like an elder observationist. I often have thought this when he is curating through his Tlaloc Studios, or painting, or just part of a group show. We talk about the aesthetic of Los Angeles so often when we talk about fine art made here, the mix of cultures, the overwhelming urban and suburban sprawl that collide and contract and expand upon each other, and how that influences so much of the art. Ozzis is sort of a superhighway of information, his paintings containing a thick swath of street culture that is seen just driving down a wide road in LA. But he is beginning to expand his oeuvre, and his newest solo show, a debut at Charlie James Gallery called OXI-DIOS, not only solidifies Ozzie as one of the best emerging artists in LA, but as someone who is making exciting, challenging and forward-thinking paintings that are both of the place he came from but also a fantasy of what it will become. —Evan Pricco
Also of note, and from the gallery: In the downstairs gallery, Juarez has curated a group show entitled Angelitos de Plata, a celebration of over 20 Los Angeles artists working in sculpture, ceramics, painting, photography, and drawing. This community represents a network of influence, support, and inspiration; Juarez refers to them as his guides and his angels. A celebration of community also suffuses Tlaloc Studios, an artist-run studio and exhibition space in South Central spearheaded by Juarez since 2019. Named for the Aztec god of rain, who represents growth, fertility, and abundance, Tlaloc Studios has become a lively space for artists to come together.
