Toria Maldonado

Mothers

Oil, collage on canvas

"I make work based on connection to my community, to my culture, and to myself. I use my work to embody the push and pull between representing myself and the life around me. Currently, I’ve been focusing on my relationship with my queer identity and gender expression and how that relates to my Mexican Japanese American culture. Some of my recent portraits reference specific family members to represent these different layers of identity.

'Mothers' depicts my mother and maternal grandmother, painted over family photographs. This portrait symbolizes the matriarchs' relationship with each other and their individual journey of motherhood."

— Toria Maldonado

About the artist

Toria Maldonado

I’m a multidisciplinary visual artist from and currently based in Long Beach, California on Tongva land. My pronouns are they/them. I make figurative portraits and digital illustrations that address contemporary issues and reference the intersection of my Mexican-Japanese American lineage with my non-binary trans identity. My work often depicts vulnerable and intimate settings that underly my need for connection with others; coping with grief and trauma are consistent bases in my practice. I employ different methods like collage, painting, printmaking, and photography to conceptualize ideas into physical and emotional explorations. The motivation behind my art-making is typically initiated by issues I fixate on to either engage, challenge, or to better understand. In my practice, I’ve learned to use many creative tools to deal with both personal and communal struggles.

In 2019, I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Studio Art from California State University, of Long Beach. My work has been exhibited in LBMA Downtown’s Juried Photography Exhibition, South Gate Museum’s Flowers For You – Flores para ti exhibition, and Plaza de la Raza’s Invocando Autonomia/Invoking Autonomy exhibition. I have freelanced with organizations like Nalgona Positivity Pride, Chicxs Rockerxs SELA, and Mi Centro (located at the LA LGBT Center). Currently, I’m collaborating with the owners of Plantiitas/Plantiitas Market by hosting community events and selling art prints and merchandise in their shops. In the meantime, I’m creating new works for my upcoming solo show, “Tough to Be Tender.”