Based in Los Angeles, Erick Medel was born in Puebla, Mexico in 1992. He holds an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. Embroidering denim with an industrial sewing machine, Medel’s works touch on everyday life in Los Angeles, particularly those living and working in Boyle Heights and the city’s East Side. The painstaking craft of his embroidery is slow and meticulous, a compliment to the snapshot-like scenes it depicts. Equal parts documentarian and synthesizer, Medel strings together his own experiences as well as those of his family and his community into stitched scenes of vibrant color, tactile textures, and labored surfaces which convey his strong sense of identification with and care for his environment.
How does living in Boyle Heights influence your work?
Living here has influenced my work in lots of ways. I like the sense of community around the area. The neighborhood inspires me to constantly create. The area has so much character and culture oozing and there are so many things to look at. People are just living their lives, but something about that inspires me to capture everyday life like I’m recording history.
In what way are Mexican traditions important to your everyday life and work as an artist?
Traditions are important because they preserve our culture and heritage. It makes sure other generations will experience and learn from them. I enjoy watching Mariachi bands play live, I get a positive emotional reaction. Sometimes in my work, I make an effort to include some of the traditions I grew up with as a way to introduce them to people who might not be familiar with them.
Can you talk about the importance of material in your process as an artist?
My work, by nature, is very tactile. I’m moving the fabric with my hands. Though I use a machine, how I move the fabric gives a handmade quality. I chose to use denim because of its durability, but I also started to think about its history, Americana, and my own relationship to it. My dad is a gardener and uses denim to protect him from rose thorns. I also think about labor and how denim was originally used in the US by laborers. Now it’s cool, but it didn’t start out that way; it was a durable material used for practicality.
Which Mexican artists are you most influenced by?
I like to look at Diego Rivera, Miguel Covarrubias, and Alfredo Ramos Martinez among others.
Which artists would you like to be in a group show with?
It’s hard to come up with a list but I really enjoy when I get to show with my peers.
Is there an institutional collection that would be meaningful for you to be in?
I’d like to have my work in LA museum collections. That would be a great milestone to achieve because I grew up going to museums such as LACMA and MOCA. I always imagine what it would be like to have my work seen by people from a similar background as myself within such prestigious institutions.
Which part of the art ecosystem excites you the most for the future of your practice?
To be exhibited in other countries is always exciting. It’s exciting to see how people receive the work from all different backgrounds.
Tell us about the work at your solo show that is currently up at Charlie James Gallery
My solo show titled “Vidas” captures quiet and loud moments in everyday life around my studio in Boyle Heights, an area that is predominantly working-class Latino. It’s special to me to capture these moments and create art about it because it’s a way to preserve aspects of our culture.
Tell us about your upcoming shows this year
I have an upcoming solo booth in September at The Armory Show in New York with Fragment Gallery. I will be in a group show in Italy with F2T Gallery in the fall.
Works from Erick’s studio (below)
‘Vidas’ is currently on view at Charlie James Gallery in Los Angeles from July 20, 2024 to August 31, 2024 (below).
