Moments of Riotous Unrest Converge in Elmer Guevara's Dramatic Paintings

"How do we live when crises compound? Yesterday like today / Ayer cómo hoy is a poignant solo exhibition by Elmer Guevara that collapses time and space into dramatic paintings of unrest and upheaval. Layered with raging fires and warm California light, each work captures a tension between danger and mundanity, peering into the ways people cope amid chaos. Guevara was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, the neighborhood where his parents settled after fleeing civil war in El Salvador in the 1980s."

""Couple Hours after 3:15pm" references the time the officers' acquittal was announced and depicts a man seated in front of a vintage, white Volkswagen Beetle while a fire rips through the neighborhood. With a pointed finger and relaxed pose, the figure mimics the theatrical subject of Domenico Fetti's " Portrait of a Man with a Sheet of Music" (1620), a vanitas piece that speaks to the vacuousness of material possessions. Guevara's re-interpretation includes his signature newsprint, this issue featuring King's harrowing experience front and center."

"His mother, for example, appears at her kitchen table with a bottle of Coca-Cola and a newspaper spread out in front of her as she points to the main story of rioters taking over the city. Like others in his paintings, she is both deeply aware of the turmoil that surrounds her and calm in disposition, exemplifying the all-too-relatable need to soldier on amid anxiety and heartbreak."

Elmer Guevara collapses time and space into dramatic paintings that merge raging fires with warm California light to depict unrest and everyday life. The works capture tensions between imminent danger and mundane activities, showing how people cope amid chaos. Guevara's South Central Los Angeles upbringing, shaped by his parents' flight from El Salvador and the 1992 Rodney King riots, informs scenes of destruction and quietude. "Couple Hours after 3:15pm" references the acquittal time, juxtaposing a relaxed figure and vanitas themes with newsprint featuring King's experience. Family members appear in domestic settings, calm and attentive, embodying resilience and the need to persevere amid trauma.

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