Daniela Garcia

Infancia

Oil, charcoal on canvas

"Infancia'' meaning childhood depicts two of my youngest cousins, they are placed in front of a house from our home state of Guanajuato. The protective embrace of the older child represents the loss of childhood that occurs in first generation children of immigrants. We are forced to grow-up at a quicker pace when the weight of keeping our family afloat in a foreign land is placed on our shoulders.

Oil and charcoal on canvas.
30 x 24 inches

About the artist

Daniela Garcia

Daniela Garcia is a first-generation Mexican American. Born in Northridge California, she spent her childhood traveling between the rural community of Lake Los Angeles and Guanajuato Mexico. From a young age she was raised surrounded by immigrant communities and traditions, her father was a refuge for anyone who needed a place to stay as they immigrated from Mexico to California. Her art practice centers around this experience. As a child, immigration was a necessity for her family's survival. As a young adult, she experienced the hostility towards immigrants and the constant fight to keep them out. This drove her current body of work which addresses the clashing feeling of family and opportunity, and the fear and hostility that has developed towards her community in the recent administration. Garcia is a first-generation college graduate. She received her BFA in Drawing and Painting from California State University Long Beach and also received her teaching credential from here. Garciai has had the opportunity to exhibit her work throughout Southern California. She currently lives and works in Ventura County.