Artist Bio
Linda Arreola is a Los Angeles based artist with a background in sculpture and architecture. She received her B.A. and M.A. degrees in sculpture from California State University Los Angeles and received a Master of Architecture from UCLA. Early in her career she created sculptural works of simple geometries constructed of wood and steel cable. Following her studies in architecture, she went on to explore painting, installation and printmaking. She is one of the featured artists in the book, “Contemporary Chicana/Chicano Artists”. In 2008 she completed a Public Art Commission for the East Los Angeles Civic Center main plaza and she was a recipient of the Durfee Foundation ARC grant. In 2010 she received the City of Los Angeles (COLA) – Individual Artist Fellowship from the Department of Cultural Affairs. This year, 2017, she is a recipient of the California Community Foundation Individual Artist grant.
Artist Statement
My work has revolved around a belief that when things are at their most elemental, they reveal to us their essence. Energy, poetry, and glory, as well as mystery, are innate to all things. My interest has been in honoring the simple, the common, and the elemental. Simple geometric form such as the circle and the square, a single letter or a word are elements used in my paintings. Symbolizing beauty and poetry in material form, they are the humble icons of a grand spirit.
With a background in sculpture and architecture my work has sought an order and three-dimensional quality from which I have developed the use of the “grid”. It is the foundation on which I build and layer my paintings. It suggests an interconnection between all things and is the vehicle that transmits spirit.
I believe there is a connection between the domestic and the sublime, the commonplace and the spiritual, and the material and the soul. This has been the nature of my work.