Erick Medel Stitches Vibrant Stories of Los Angeles’s Immigrant Community

Using a sewing machine and thread, Los Angeles-based artist Erick Medel highlights the vitality of his home city. Influenced by the daily goings-on in his local Boyle Heights neighborhood, the artist focuses especially on the immigrant community, capturing people at work, on walks, at festivals, or running errands.

Gleaming sunlight and bright colors often characterize Medel’s compositions, reflecting the regional climate and slightly staticky imagery as if recalled from memory. He often depicts people amid their regular routines, like commuting to school, painting houses, or selling fresh fruit, illuminating the complex and vibrant collective story of immigrant histories, labor, and culture in the city.

At Charlie James Gallery, Medel’s current solo exhibition Vidas—Spanish for “lives”—celebrates the vibrant interactions of his community and neighbors while also glimpsing his own experiences as he traverses the area, enjoys local food, and greets passersby. The artist’s choice of canvas—a deep blue, heavyweight denim—evokes manual labor and effortless style, nodding to the phenomenal undertaking of moving to a new country and the fabled laid-back lifestyle of California.

Vidas continues through August 31 in Los Angeles. Explore more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

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