Lorena Ochoa: Ruegos y Desiertos, presented at Charlie James Gallery, delves into the intersection of cowboy culture's romanticized past and contemporary issues like migration and segregation. Through multimedia, Ochoa juxtaposes everyday objects to critique the myth of the American West from a Chicanx perspective. Ochoa highlights the historical erasure of Mexican vaqueros and the hypocrisy of vilifying migration while celebrating westward expansion. The exhibition runs until April 13, 2024.

Lorena Ochoa was born in 1983 in Santa Ana, California. Ochoa received their BA in Visual Arts with a minor in Chicana/o Studies at the University of California Los Angeles and their MFA from the University of California San Diego. Ochoa has been awarded the Cota Robles Fellowship, the Oceanids Fellowship, UCLA Undergraduate Award in 2018 and 2019, the Hoyt Memorial Scholarship, the Weissman Travel Fund and the Michael Coomes Memorial Award. Lorena Ochoa was also an Artist in Residence at the Guapamacataro Hacienda in Michoacan in 2022. Ochoa’s work was recently included in ICA San Diego’s NextGen 2023 exhibition.

Lorena Ochoa: Ruegos y Desiertos / Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles. Opening reception, March 9, 2024.