Sonya Sombreuil / COME TEES

Since 2009 the painter Sonya Sombreuil has operated the fashion label COME TEES. Rooted in Los Angeles’s thriving streetwear scene, Sombreuil’s brand has gained momentum both in the public eye and in collaboration with larger labels. Her limited-edition pieces stand out for their signature screen-printing: jagged lines, scribbled texts, song lyrics applied in heavy brushstrokes, comic book–like images, and lush colors spilling across vintage Dickies work shirts. The DIY nature of COME TEES goes beyond handmade imagery to pollinate the community-driven mentality that underlies Sombreuil’s practice. COME TEES articulates the stakes not only of contemporary fashion in Los Angeles but also of image making, distribution, alternative entrepreneurial economies, and pedagogy (Sombreuil teaches T-shirt making, drawing, and screen-printing in local prisons).

For Made in L.A. 2020 Sombreuil has embedded a venue within the Hammer Museum. VIVID is a celebration of mystical sites and artist-run spaces that guides visitors away from the edges of market-driven culture. Over the run of the exhibition, Sombreuil’s installation is being activated as gallery, storefront, performance space, music venue, and screening room, hosting a rotating schedule of local artists, underground musicians, experimental filmmakers, and designers as well as her own limited-edition merchandise.

The creation of this work is made possible by a generous contribution from UGG.

In Made in L.A. 2020: a version, the artist’s work is present in two institutions, across Los Angeles. See Sonya Sombreuil's work on view at The Huntington.

Gallery Activation (April 17–May 30, 2021)
See below for images
Diana Yesenia Alvarado
Jan Gatewood
Narumi Nekpenekpen
Yoma Ru

Screening Room (June 1–30, 2021)
See videos below
Alima Lee
Maia Ruth Lee
Fox Maxy

Musicians (July 1–August 1, 2021)
See videos below
Angels In America
Eartheater
Jasmine Nyende
Davia Spain

Fashion Performance (to be announced)
NO SESSO

Musicians

Jasmine Nyende

Screening Room

Gallery Activation

Photo of a an outdoor terrace with an installation of temporary wooden walls, a coatrack with t-shirts hanging on it and colorfully painted pedestals with objects on top.

Sonya Sombreuil, VIVID, 2020. Installation view, Hammer Museum

Sonya Sombreuil, VIVID, 2020. Installation view, The Hammer Museum

Photo of a TV set sitting on a concrete floor, with black and white images pasted on the body and an orange image on the screen. To the right of the TV is an orange and black painted surface, and a pale orange wall is in the background.

Yoma Ru, Soprano, 2020

Biography

Sonya Sombreuil was born in 1986 in Santa Cruz, California. Alongside her painting practice she founded the fashion label COME TEES in 2009. Strongly rooted in Los Angeles’s thriving streetwear scene, the brand is gaining momentum both in the public eye and in collaboration with larger brands. Her limited-edition pieces stand out for their signature screen printing: jagged lines, scribbled texts, song lyrics applied in heavy brushstrokes, comic book–like images, lush colors spilling out across vintage Dickies work shirts. The DIY nature of COME TEES goes beyond handmade imagery to pollinate the community-driven mentality that underlies Sombreuil’s practice. In 2019 she opened Classic Hits, a shop that stocks items from her circle of designer friends, including Venus X’s GHE20G0TH1K, and No Sesso. COME TEES articulates the stakes not only of contemporary fashion in Los Angeles but also of image making, distribution, new entrepreneurial economies, and pedagogy—Sombreuil teaches T-shirt making, drawing, and screen printing in local prisons. She recently had a solo exhibition of her paintings at Bridget Donahue, New York (2018).