The Folk Tree

From June 6 – July 3, The Marengo Collection is pleased to present RETRATOS Y RECUERDOS, a photography exhibition featuring the images of Bill Brewer, Corey Kaplan, Andy Kitchen, Manuel Martinez, Eriberto Oriol, Leopoldo Pena, Vicki Ragan, Domingo Rodriguez, and Jessica Torres. The opening reception is scheduled on Saturday, June 6,
2 – 6 P.M.

The artists, working in both black and white and color, using digital and more traditional methods, offer images of the city, travel, cultural, social and political events, and portraits. All the work touches on aspects of the Latino experience.

Denizens of Los Angeles are captured by Eriberto Oriol in his pieces entitled “First Amor” and “Dia de los Muertos.” Leopoldo Pena and Manuel Martinez chose the Los Angeles Community Garden as their subject, with portraits of its farmers and the protestors who struggled to insure its continued existence, as well as images of the land itself. Domingo Rodriguez, a faculty member at Rio Hondo College in Whittier, shows work from his “Chicana Home Girl Series.” He describes this series as focusing on women who have been, or are representative of women he has known as “homegirls” in East Los Angeles, the neighborhood in which he was born and raised. Bill Brewer’s striking “Olvera Street” and “Hollenbeck Park, Boyle Heights” were taken in the quiet of night, long after the crowds of visitors and tourists have disappeared.

Corey Kaplan and Andrew Kitchen share their memories of Cuba – Kaplan with color images of the people and urban environment, Kitchen in soft focus photographs taken with a plastic toy camera of church facades and a rusting ship.

Vicki Ragan has spent years chronicling the lives and art of many talented wood carvers from Oaxaca, Mexico. Her compelling portraits incorporate both the artists and their environment. And, Jessica Torres takes a very personal approach in her portraits of family members right here at home in Pasadena.

This exhibition is being held concurrently with ESAU ANDRADE & FRIENDS on view at
The Folk Tree, a related space at 217 S. Fair Oaks Avenue, about five blocks away.