Los Angeles River #1 (2018)

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For over 100 years Boyle Heights has been a neighborhood that reflected the changing diversity of Los Angeles. In the early years of the city, it was home to Los Angeles’ largest Japanese community but also to many people of Jewish, Russian, Armenian and African-America decent.  But by the year 2000 the Boyle Heights neighborhood was, according to the US Census, 94% Latino and only 2.3% Asian. With the addition of the Gold Line light rail in 2009 and numerous new developments, many long-time Hispanic Boyle Heights residents have begun to complain of gentrification and rising rents, a common refrain that will likely be repeated as downtown Los Angeles continues to evolve from an abandoned urban core to a trendy, desirable place to live. 

Los Angeles River painting 1 depicts the view of the downtown city skyline from Boyle Heights.  Ever present are the downtown memes of rail yards, high-tension electrical towers, historical bridges covered with graffiti sheltering uncounted homeless, and a barely-visible channelized river. A gloomy depiction of the underbelly of Los Angeles contrasts with a colorful pink and blue Southern California sunset as seen through electric power lines. This Los Angles River first-in-the-series painting suggests that light and dark, beauty and ugly, nature and the man-made coexist… even if one is often a silent, if not oppressed, partner.

If you are interested in this painting, you can view more details in the Store. If you would like to learn more about the City of Los Angeles' River Project, explore the links below.

More on the Los Angeles Revitalization Project

City of Los Angeles River Revitalization Project