July 9, 2026
Evita Tezeno
Coming Home: A Gathering of Voices
Luis De Jesus Los Angeles
June 14 - August 15, 2026
Evita Tezeno
Evita Tezeno's paint and mixed media collages are celebrations filled with couples or groups of people singing and dancing, sharing meals, playing games at a table, or relaxing at the beach. Her process is to screen or paint large sheets of paper with different types of patterns — ranging from floral to striped to textured monochromes — and then cut them into shapes that define architecture, body parts, clothing and facial features. These shapes are finally combined onto large canvases to become people interacting in a range of locations. For the exhibition Coming Home: A Gathering of Voices, Tezeno draws from her Creole roots, as well as memories growing up in Port Arthur, Texas to create a colorful and intriguing body of work that gives voice to Black cultural history.
In the foreground of Fais Do-Do (2026), a Black musician strums on his red guitar. Next to him, another man plays an accordion. Behind them is a woman in a fancy, flowered dress with bright red lips and a pink flower in her hair. She appears to be singing along with the music as a couple slow dances in the background. Though not specific, the setting is an unadorned, brightly lit interior where dozens of lightbulbs are suspended from black cords that criss-cross a dark red ceiling. There is a window toward the back through which a blue sky, dotted with white clouds is visible. The scene radiates the joy of a positive memory.
The remarkable intimacy of Tezeno's scenes is further enriched by the complicated process of their construction. The compositions are composites — each figure is built from numerous interlocking and overlapping shapes. From a distance, the works cohere, but when viewed close-up, the collage quality dominates and the images become carefully composed puzzles.
You Are the Witness to My Joy, the Keeper of My Fears (2026) features two women with sizable heads and exaggerated features — akin to figures found in "traditional" African art — bulging lips, large brown eyes and nostrils. Both women have stylized, short, wavy, black-gray hair and are wearing brightly-colored flowered shirts that are fastened with 'real' vintage buttons sewn through the canvas. They are located in a garden filled with with pink flowers on a sunny day. While their clothing and the landscape that surrounds them define the scene, what stands out in this and most of Tezeno's works is her portrayal of faces. The heads are uncharacteristically large with features reminiscent of folk-art.
The man and woman seated on a couch in a wallpapered interior in Gimme Some Sugar (2026) face each other in a moment of intimacy while simultaneously staring directly at the viewer. Their clothing blends in with the patterned couch and wall paper that surrounds them. Behind is a window where Tezeno places a tree with four birds. While the loving relationship between the couple is the subject of the image, equal emphasis is placed on the formal elements of the composition: a cropped interior with competing floral patterns. A positive aura also pervades Happy Feelings (2025) which depicts a family gathering. Five figures are standing or seated outside in a grassy yard on a sunny day, cooking, engaging in conversation and genuinely enjoying each other's company.
In a time of crisis, political uncertainty and raging wars, Tezeno offers an alternative spirit. Her works are filled with loving couples and explore community and family dynamics. Rather than use current events as a point of departure, Tezeno creates works based on familial and ancestral memories. Her images have a timeless quality and while her compositions are flat and fragmented, they reify the idea that combining disparate elements — in this instance a range of prints and patterns — can generate meaning that goes beyond the individual components.
Coming Home: A Gathering of Voices
Luis De Jesus Los Angeles
June 14 - August 15, 2026
Evita Tezeno
Evita Tezeno's paint and mixed media collages are celebrations filled with couples or groups of people singing and dancing, sharing meals, playing games at a table, or relaxing at the beach. Her process is to screen or paint large sheets of paper with different types of patterns — ranging from floral to striped to textured monochromes — and then cut them into shapes that define architecture, body parts, clothing and facial features. These shapes are finally combined onto large canvases to become people interacting in a range of locations. For the exhibition Coming Home: A Gathering of Voices, Tezeno draws from her Creole roots, as well as memories growing up in Port Arthur, Texas to create a colorful and intriguing body of work that gives voice to Black cultural history.
In the foreground of Fais Do-Do (2026), a Black musician strums on his red guitar. Next to him, another man plays an accordion. Behind them is a woman in a fancy, flowered dress with bright red lips and a pink flower in her hair. She appears to be singing along with the music as a couple slow dances in the background. Though not specific, the setting is an unadorned, brightly lit interior where dozens of lightbulbs are suspended from black cords that criss-cross a dark red ceiling. There is a window toward the back through which a blue sky, dotted with white clouds is visible. The scene radiates the joy of a positive memory.
The remarkable intimacy of Tezeno's scenes is further enriched by the complicated process of their construction. The compositions are composites — each figure is built from numerous interlocking and overlapping shapes. From a distance, the works cohere, but when viewed close-up, the collage quality dominates and the images become carefully composed puzzles.
You Are the Witness to My Joy, the Keeper of My Fears (2026) features two women with sizable heads and exaggerated features — akin to figures found in "traditional" African art — bulging lips, large brown eyes and nostrils. Both women have stylized, short, wavy, black-gray hair and are wearing brightly-colored flowered shirts that are fastened with 'real' vintage buttons sewn through the canvas. They are located in a garden filled with with pink flowers on a sunny day. While their clothing and the landscape that surrounds them define the scene, what stands out in this and most of Tezeno's works is her portrayal of faces. The heads are uncharacteristically large with features reminiscent of folk-art.
The man and woman seated on a couch in a wallpapered interior in Gimme Some Sugar (2026) face each other in a moment of intimacy while simultaneously staring directly at the viewer. Their clothing blends in with the patterned couch and wall paper that surrounds them. Behind is a window where Tezeno places a tree with four birds. While the loving relationship between the couple is the subject of the image, equal emphasis is placed on the formal elements of the composition: a cropped interior with competing floral patterns. A positive aura also pervades Happy Feelings (2025) which depicts a family gathering. Five figures are standing or seated outside in a grassy yard on a sunny day, cooking, engaging in conversation and genuinely enjoying each other's company.
In a time of crisis, political uncertainty and raging wars, Tezeno offers an alternative spirit. Her works are filled with loving couples and explore community and family dynamics. Rather than use current events as a point of departure, Tezeno creates works based on familial and ancestral memories. Her images have a timeless quality and while her compositions are flat and fragmented, they reify the idea that combining disparate elements — in this instance a range of prints and patterns — can generate meaning that goes beyond the individual components.