Luis De Jesus Los Angeles is very pleased to announce Aaron Maier-Carretero, the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. The exhibition will be on view from February 26 – April 9, 2022, with an opening reception to be held on Saturday, February 26, from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

Aaron Maier-Carretero’s narrative oil paintings dance between realism and caricature in their representation of the human form and condition as a way to understand and reconcile his relationship to latinidad, whiteness, Jewishness, and maleness. He delves into his own family as a source of inspiration, interrogating the occurrences of his upbringing, tapping into personal memories, journals, and photographs to critically examine the way in which his family has bought into a belief that to be white (or close to it) is to be more important, more beautiful, and worthy of love. His goal is to expose and challenge problems such as domestic violence, physical abuse, racism, and self-hatred that proliferate unchecked for generations behind the carefully constructed facade of suburbia. In his work, moments of tenderness co-exist with tension and unease. For Maier-Carretero, painting serves as a means of selfawareness that ultimately results in a greater sense of self-acceptance.

Aaron Maier-Carretero is a Latinx visual artist who lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. He obtained his BFA from the School of The Art Institute of Chicago and also attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. He has exhibited at the Queens Museum, The Sculpture Center, and The National Arts Club in New York City; The Art Institute of Chicago and The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago; The Phillips Collection, The University of Maryland Art Gallery, and the Washington Project for the Arts, among other DMV venues. His work is held in the collections of The Phillips Collection and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities in Washington, DC; The University of Maryland Art Gallery, College Park; and the Art Bank Collection, as well as numerous private collections.