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On Saturday, Art Division students joined alumni Alex “OTISWOODS” Gonzalez and Roberto Ortiz for an afternoon studio visit at their shared space near LaFayette Park. The visit began with a striking introduction about the importance of community spaces and collaborative peer building, values that continue to guide both artists in their creative practices. Born and raised in the MacArthur Park/Koreatown neighborhood, Alex and Roberto shared how their lived experiences as first-generation Angelenos inform their work in music, painting, and beyond. They reflected on their time at Art Division, crediting mentors Dan McCleary and Luis Serrano for providing guidance and opportunities that helped propel their artistic careers. Students explored sketchbooks, paintings, musical instruments, and works in progress—gaining insight into how experiential learning, mentorship, and community shape artistic growth. The afternoon was both inspiring and grounding, reminding us that building an oasis for creative expression depends on shared experiences and a commitment to community involvement.
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On Friday, August 29, Art Division students visited Noah Davis at the Hammer Museum—the first institutional survey of the late artist’s groundbreaking work (on view June 8 – August 31, 2025). The exhibition brought together over 50 works created between 2007 and 2015, charting the breadth and depth of Davis’s extraordinary practice. His paintings draw on influences as wide-ranging as family histories, ancient Egyptian cosmologies, current affairs, flea market photographs, and American media. With a style that feels at once realistic and dreamlike, joyful and melancholic, Davis captured the contradictory sensations of lived experience in ways that deeply resonated with our students. Students shared that they found the artwork relatable to their own lived experience. Afterward, the group continued the conversation over lunch, reflecting on the themes and techniques that struck them most. We also added the exhibition book to the Art Division Library Collection—ensuring Davis’s legacy and vision can continue to inspire our community. |
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September 2025
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