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Collage of five diverse artworks from the Hammer Museum Collections side by side. From left to right: 1) Contemporary painting of two embracing figures with surreal elements. 2) Post-impressionist style painting of trees with vibrant blues and greens. 3) Black and white illustration of a face with intricate patterns. 4) Japanese woodblock print style image of a figure in a checkered robe. 5) Photograph of a couple dancing, the woman in a black dress and the man in white

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View of a gallery with a city block recreated in miniature in ceramic

Christopher Suarez

Back to Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living

Christopher Suarez’s ceramic cars and buildings show the urban landscape as a reflection of his upbringing in Southern California. For several years he has made ceramic replicas of small brick-and-mortar businesses that pay homage to his hometown of Long Beach, California, where he continues to live and work. The artist inscribes his works with details carefully copied from local architectural forms. These rectangular structures point to the influence of the generations of Mexican immigrants who, like his father and maternal grandfather, have settled in Long Beach over the past century. Suarez’s miniatures also call attention to the businesses themselves—family-owned donut shops, carnicerías, bodegas, and restaurants—as evidence of the efforts of their owners to establish foundations in the country to which they immigrated.

Bio

Christopher Suarez (b. 1994, Long Beach, California) received a BFA from California State University, Long Beach, in 2020. His work has been exhibited at the Art, Design & Architecture Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara (2023); Elizabeth Holden Gallery, Warren Wilson College, Swannanoa, North Carolina (2022); Sebastian Gladstone, Los Angeles (2022); and 639 S. La Brea, Los Angeles (2021). He was an artist-in-residence at the American Museum of Ceramic Art (2022), and Township10.