Daniela Garcia Hamilton

Daniela Garcia Hamilton (b.1995) is a first generation Mexican-American painter. Her work explores the rituals and traditions she experienced as a child of immigrant parents. Color and pattern is integrated throughout her work as she describes the vibrancy of her traditions through portraits of her family members. Settings are fabricated to draw attention to social-political commentary on past and current immigrant experiences. As she completed her B.F.A. at CSULB, she began to reflect on her traditions through the American lens. American tile patterns are used as the veil through which she remembers these events. Her work has been exhibited throughout California and abroad including Chicago, Mexico City, Amsterdam, and Sweden, with galleries such as Artbug Gallery, Luna Anais Gallery, Artshare LA, the Irvine Fine Arts Center, Residency Art Gallery and Thinkspace Projects. She has been a keynote speaker for the undocumented commencement at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and continues to hold a strong connection to her Mexican-immigrant roots. She is represented by Residency Art Gallery in Inglewood California.

I create paintings that are influenced by my cultural upbringing as a first-generation Mexican American. I reflect on the cultural rituals I was raised with. Being the first to leave my community to pursue a college degree, I returned with questions as to why we performed the rituals without change. Rituals, such as birthday celebrations that included pushing the birthday boy headfirst into the cake, reminded me of the emotion I felt as a child. A rush of fear and uncertainty in conjunction with immense joy and an overflowing feel of community. I attempt to create an environment for the viewer to feel connected to these moments. The figures are placed in fabricated scenes that draw connections to colorful homes of Guanajuato, Mexico. Having spent most of my life traveling to my father’s hometown of Las Cañas in Guanajuato, my perception of our cultural roots were shaped by the time spent here. I use patterning throughout my work as a physical representation of family and how we are woven together through our shared experience.