July 13 through August 31, 2019
Opening Reception: Saturday, July 13, 7-10 pm
Bermudez Projects is proud to present Leticia Maldonado Should you need us…, the artist’s debut solo exhibit at our NELA/Cypress Park space.
The exhibit presents an array of large scale neon sculptures, as well as smaller, intimate pieces offering viewers a chance for contemplation and reflection.
Maldonado’s mastery over shaping (known in neon parlance as bending) is visible throughout this entire exhibition. Intricate roses, delicate birds, and hard sgraffito’d surfaces illustrate a passion for the craft, as well as an innate understanding of transforming emotions into sculpture.
In Cruising the Hyphenate, curator Julian Bermudez wrote, “A relative newcomer to the Los Angeles art scene, Leticia Maldonado is a virtuoso neon bender in her own right. Her artwork challenges the conventions of what sculpture is, as well as pushing neon to go beyond its own limitations, transcending the traditional ‘street shop sign’ toward a purer form a creative expression.”
In just a short time, Maldonado’s work has received lots of attention.
She’s been in two museum group shows: She Bends: Women in Neon at the Museum of Neon Art; and Building Bridges at the Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil in Mexico City. Her works have also been featured in Viceland and Apple Music.
Should you need us… serves as an introduction to the artist’s creative imaginings ignited by love, romance, graffiti, punk rock, comic books, and her urban surroundings. Each work is a talisman offering power and light in our current world.
Leticia Maldonado (b. 1980) was born in West Covina, California and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. She grew up surrounded by the bright, eye-catching signs atop famous casinos such as The Dunes, The Tropicana, The Flamingo, and The Stardust. For the past four years, she has been mentored by well-known neon artist Michael Flechtner. And, under his tutelage, Maldonado has swiftly emerged as a rising star in the neon art scene. Maldonado’s neon sculpture work – primarily floral motifs delicately arranged, burning with seductive allure – ranges from small to large scale. The artist lives and works in Los Angeles, California.