b. Los Angeles, CA 1965
Christina Fernandez is a Los Angeles-based photographer. Fernandez explores her personal connection to Los Angeles in her body of works. The city and its environs are featured as an important backdrop for her works that address labor, gender, migration, and her Mexican – American identity. Working in documentary format, her urban and landscape photography conveys social and political commentaries regarding her immediate environment.
Text and staged photographs depicting mythical and historical figures are part of the oeuvre of her early works – Maria’s Great Expedition(1995 -1996) and the Ruin(1999 – 2000) series.
In her Manuela S-t-i-t-c-h-e-d (1996 – 2000) and the Lavanderia (2002) series, Fernandez examines the work and domestic life of the Latino residents of eastern Los Angeles – featuring exteriors of anonymous sweatshops and interiors of local Laundromats, to speak about the interplay of private and public spaces.
Fernandez’s series, Sereno (2006 – 2010), depicts exterior spaces from her eastside neighborhood of El Sereno. The series exposes the tension between dense residential areas and “natural” spaces in urban areas – the homes of a working class neighborhood and the residue left behind by locals in the area.
Education
| 1994-96 | M.F.A. California Institute of the Arts, Valencia CA |
| 1987-89 | B.A. University of California, Los Angeles |
Solo Exhibitions
| 2022-23 | Christina Fernandez: Multiple Exposures (a thirty year survey), California Museum of Photography, Riverside, CA |
| 2020 | Christina Fernandez, Survey, Gallery Luisotti, Santa Monica, CA |
| 2017 | Prospect, Gallery Luisotti, Santa Monica, CA |
| 2010 | Residue, Gallery Luisotti, Santa Monica, CA |
| 2006 | Inside and Out, Gallery Luisotti, Santa Monica, CA |
| 2004 | Space Available, Voz Alta, San Diego, CA |
| 2003 | Lavanderia, Gallery Luisotti, Santa Monica, CA |
| Artist Projects Series, Pomona College Museum of Art, Pomona, CA | |
| 2000 | Excerpts from Recent Work, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA |
| 1999 | Ruin, solo exhibition, Los Angeles Center For Photographic Studies |
| 1998 | The Body is an Analog & Bend: Two works on sight, California State University Northridge |
| 1993 | Sin Cool/Without Cool, Daniel Saxon Gallery, LA, CA |
| 1992 | Hidden Crimson, Daniel Saxon Gallery, LA, CA |
Selected Group Exhibitions
| 2021 | CrossBorder Photography Images of the US and Mexico from the Permanent Collection, Benton Museum of Art, Pomona, CA | |
| 2020 | Frieze NY, Art Fair (online exhibition) | |
| Four Artists, Gallery Luisotti, Santa Monica, CA | ||
| Landmarks, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, Massachusetts | ||
| Southland, Gallery Luisotti, Santa Monica, CA | ||
| 2019 | Imaging Change: History, Memory, and Social Justice, Palm Springs Art Museum, CA | |
| Encore: Reenactment in Contemporary Photography, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA | ||
| Special Installation of New Acquisition, Museum of Modern Art, NYNY | ||
| In the Sunshine of Neglect, California Museum of Photography, UCR Arts, Riverside, CA | ||
| 2018 | Multiply, Identify, Her, International Center of Photography, New York, NY | |
| 2017 | Home—So Different, So Appealing, LACMA, Los Angeles, CA | |
| Six Chicana Photographers, Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA | ||
| Golden State, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York, NY | ||
| 2016 | Don't Look Back: The 1990s at MOCA, MOCA, Los Angeles, CA | |
| 2015 | Urban California, Frenso Art Museum, Fresno, CA | |
| When We Were Young, Gallery Luisotti, Santa Monica, CA | ||
| 2014 | Sites of Memory, Gallery Luisotti, Santa Monica, CA | |
| This is Not a Self-Portrait, CSUN Gallery, Northridge, CA | ||
| 2013 | Our America, Smithsonian Museum of American Art, CA | |
| Off the Grid, Gallery Luisotti, Santa Monica, CA | ||
| 2012 | Making Sense – Contemporary LA Photo Artists, Museum of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia | |
| 2011 | Reflection Room, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown Massachusetts | |
| 2010 | The City Proper, curated by James Welling, Margo Leavin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA | |
| Selections from the Sereno Series, LBCC Art Gallery, Long Beach, CA | ||
| How Many Billboards, Art in Stead, MAK Center, West Hollywood, CA | ||
| In Color: New American Stories from LACMA’s Photography Collection, CA | ||
| 2009 | Status Report, Bric Contempory Arts, Brooklyn, NY | |
| 2008 | Phantom Sightings: Art After the Chicano Movement, LACMA, LA, CA | |
| This Side of Paradise: Body and Landscape in Los Angeles Photographs, Huntington Memorial Library and Gardens, San Marino, CA | ||
| Index: Conceptualism in California, MOCA, LA, CA | ||
| 2006 | Leaving Aztlan: Redux, Arena 1, Santa Monica, CA | |
| Leaving Aztlan: Redux, LIMN Gallery, San Francisco, CA | ||
| Leaving Aztlan: Redux, Wignall Gallery, Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga, CA | ||
| Inter-polations, Palm Springs Museum of Art, CA | ||
| 2005 | New Acquisitions, MOCA, LA, CA | |
| Insatiable Desires, USC Fisher Gallery, LA , CA | ||
| 2004 | At Work: The Art of California Labor (traveling) | |
| 2003 | Te La Lavas, Gallery 727, LA, CA | |
| Only Skin Deep: Changing Visions of the American Self, online exhibition, sponsored by International Center of Photography, NY, NY | ||
| At Work:The Art of California Labor, San Francisco State University, CA | ||
| 2002 | Vacant, Gallery Luisotti, Santa Monica, CA | |
| Art/Women/California: Parallels and Intersections, 1950-2000, San Jose Museum of Art, CA | ||
| 2001 | Aztlan Today: Chicano Postnation, Bronx Museum of Art, NY | |
| 2000 | Flight Patterns, Museum of Contemporary Art, LA, CA | |
| East of the River, Santa Monica Museum of Art, CA | ||
| Excerpts from Recent work, Orange Coast College, CA | ||
| Tethered to the Logic of Homo Sapiens, Riverside Museum of Art, CA | ||
| 1999 | Intermission Projections, Side Street Projects, Laemmle Theatre, LA | |
| Aztlan Today: Chicano Post-nation, Canal Isabel Segunda, Madrid, Spain | ||
| Not on Any Map, Betty Rymer Gallery, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL | ||
| 1998 | I to Eye III, Cirrus Gallery, LA, CA | |
| Women Who Shoot, New Space, LA, CA | ||
| 1997 | Insite '97, a San Diego/Tijuana exhibition, (two site-specific works at the Greyhound bus station, San Ysidro, CA and near border wall in Colonia Libertad, Tijuana, MX) | |
| Public Image, Private Focus, Cal State Los Angeles, LA, CA | ||
| Significant Departures, Cerritos College, Cerritos, CA | ||
| 1996 | The Virgin, Frida, and Me, Saddleback Community College, Mission Viejo, CA | |
| Working Histories: Labor in Southern California, LACPS, CA | ||
| Here Now… Y Que?, Centro Cultural de la Raza, San Diego, CA | ||
| Intersecting Identities, Fisher Gallery, USC, LA, CA | ||
| Chicanolandia, Sesnon Gallery, UC Santa Cruz, CA | ||
| 1995 | WestWorld: Emerging Los Angeles Artists, Cal Poly Pomona, Pomona, CA | |
| Iconography as Metaphor, Pierce College Art Gallery, Woodland Hills, CA | ||
| Chicanolandia, Los Alamos Historical Society, Los Alamos, NM | ||
| Chicanolandia, Peoria Arts Commission, Peoria, AZ | ||
| From the West, Mexican Museum, San Francisco, CA | ||
| Yo Hablo/I Speak, A.R.T. Press, LA, CA | ||
| 1994 | Mi Gente, Breeden Gallery, Orange, CA | |
| Encuentro, University of Guadalajara, Mexico | ||
| 1993 | Chicano Aesthetic – 4 Artists: A Dialogue, Georgia State University Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA | |
| Chicano/Chicana: Visceral Images, The Works Gallery, Costa Mesa, CA | ||
| Chicanolandia, M.A.R.S., Phoenix, AZ. Arizona State Commission for the Art | ||
| La Familia, Century Gallery, Sylmar, CA | ||
| 1992 | Chicano Y Latino: Parallels and Divergence, Kimberly Gallery, Washington, DC | |
| Chicano Y Latino: Parallels and Divergence, El Paso Museum of Art, TX | ||
| Ojo Abierto/Open Eye, Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum, CA | ||
| Breaking Barriers, Santa Monica Museum of Art, CA | ||
| New Photographers, Los Angeles Photography Center, CA | ||
| 1991 | Chicano & Latino: Parallels and Divergence, Daniel Saxon Gallery, LA, CA (catalogue) | |
| L.A. Iluminado: Eight Los Angeles Photographers, Otis/Parsons Gallery, LA, CA (catalogue) | ||
| ExVotos y Ofrendas – Día de los Muertos: A Woman’s Point of View, Galería de la Raza, San Francisco, CA | ||
| 1990 | In Visible Colors, Los Angeles Photography Center, CA | |
| 1989 | Day of the Dead/Dia de Los Muertos, Self Help Graphics, CA |
Publications and Catalogs (selected)
| Ferrer, Elizabeth, Latinx Photography in the United States, pgs. 95-96, 97, 106, 2020 | |
| Noriega, Chon, “To Dwell on this Matrix of Places,” Home So Different So Appealing, pgs. 27-30, 2018 | |
| Jane Brown and Marla Humburg Kennedy, Both Sides of Sunset: Photographing Los Angeles, 2015 | |
| Henry, Lisa,How Many Billboards, Art in Stead, 2010 | |
| Tejada, Roberto, National Camera: Photography and Mexico’s Image Environment, 2009 | |
| Fox, Howard, “Theater of the Inauthentic,” Phantom Sightings: Art After the Chicano Movement, p.81, 2008 | |
| Gonzalez, Rita, “Phantom Sites: The Official, The Unofficial, and The Orificial,” Phantom Sightings: Art After the Chicano Movement, p.66, 2008 | |
| Noriega, Chon, “The Orphans of Modernism,” Phantom Sightings: Art After the Chicano Movement, p.26, p.41, 2008 | |
| Rugg, Judith, and Michele Sedwick, Issues in Curating Contemporary Art and Performance, 2008 | |
| Perez, Laura, Altarities: Chicana Art: The Politics of Spirit and Aesthetic Altarities, 2007. | |
| Marla Humburg Kennedy, and Ben Stiller, editors, Looking At Los Angeles,2005 | |
| McKenna, Terry, “Collecting Against Forgetting: ‘East of the River’ Chicano Art Collectors Anonymous” in Richard Meyer’s collection Representing the Passions: Histories, Bodies, Visions, 2003 | |
| Pinkel, Sheila, "Women, Body, Earth," Women, Art and Technology, editor Judy Malloy, MIT Press, 2003 | |
| Mesa-Baines, Amelia, “Calafia/Califas,” Art/Women/California, Parallels and Intersections, 1950 – 2000, editors Diana Burgess Fuller and Daniela Salvioni, University of California Press with San Jose Museum of Art, 2002, pp. 137-138, 2003 | |
| Lippard, Lucy, On the Beaten Track; Tourism, Art and Place, The New Press, NY, 1999 | |
| Gonzalez, Rita, “Cambio de Cara: Looking at Works in the Chicano Art Collectors Anonymous Collections,” East of The River, Santa Mnica Museum of Art, 2000 p.35 | |
| Butler, Cornelia H., “Document and Intervention,” Flight Patterns, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, 2000, p.37 | |
| Urban Latino Cultures, editors Raul Villa, Micheal Dear, ADOBE L.A., Sage Press, 1999 pp. 50-55 | |
| Sichel, Bertha, Aztlan Today: The Chicano Postnation, Consejeria de Cultura, Comunidad de Madrid, 1999 pp. 11-13, 62-71 | |
| Perez, Laura, "That Which Remains," Ruin, Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies, 1999 | |
| Private Time in Public Space: Insite ‘97,editor Sally Yard, 1997, pp 59, 106 | |
| Gonzalez, Jennifer A., "Negotiated Frontiers: Contemporary Chicano Photography," From the West, Mexican Museum, San Francisco, CA, 1995 | |
| Noriega, Chon A., "Many Wests,” From the West, Mexican Museum, San Francisco, CA, 1995 | |
| Avila Glenna,"Eight Los Angeles Photographers," L.A. Iluminado, Otis/Parsons, CA, 1991 |
Periodicals, printed and online (selected 1991–2017)
| 2021 | Latinx Photography in the US: Elizabeth Ferrer with Roberto Tejada, Live from the Whitney(video) | |
| Warhol Foundation Distributes $3.9 Million to 51 Organizations Grappling with Pandemic Losses, Hyperallergic, January 13, 2021 | ||
| 2020 | Rita Gonzalez and Christina Fernandez: Conversations with Artists, LACMA (video) | |
| In Conversation: Susanna Temkin and Christina Fernandez, El Museo del Barrio (video) | ||
| Brenner, Fernanda, Diving into Legacy…Interview with Rodrigo Moura, Frieze Week Magazine, April 21 | ||
| Haddad, Natalie, Critic’s Pick Los Angeles, Artforum | ||
| 2019 | Lucy Gallun, New to MoMA: Christina Fernandez’s Maria’s Great Expedition, MoMA Magazine, May 31. | |
| 2017 | Dreskin, Jeanne, Christina Fernandez’s Lines of Sight, Aperture, October 4. | |
| Zellen, Jody, Art and Cake, October 12. | ||
| 2012 | Aguilar, Carlyn, Notes on Looking; Contemporary Art From Los Angeles, February 2. | |
| 2010 | Knight, Christoper, Los Angeles Times, Culture Monster, March 4. | |
| 2009 | Wellen, Laura Lindenberger, …might be good, June 14. | |
| 2006 | Westerbeck, Colin, Photosynthesis, West Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Sunday, Sept 17, p.13 | |
| 2003 | Siphron, Catherine, Reviews, Artweek, September 2003 | |
| 2002 | Myers, Holly, “Vacant Fills a Space in the history of Urban Sprawl,” Art Reviews, Los Angeles Times, Calendar, Friday, March 1 | |
| 2000 | Prado, Reina, Chicano Art off the 60 Freeeway, BOCA, March – February p. 15 | |
| Gilbert, Rick, Reviews, Artweek, January, p.24-25 | ||
| 1999 | Butler, Cornelia H., Parkett, No. 57, p.193 | |
| 1998 | Nolan, Timothy, Onview: InSite 97, San Diego and Tijuana, New Arts Examiner, Feb., p 40. | |
| Johnson, Reed, Art/Sneak Peek, Daily News, Friday, February 6, p 28. | ||
| Hollander, Kurt, Import/Export; Crossover Dreams, Art in America, May, pg. 48. | ||
| 1996 | Chavoya, C. Ondine, How Their West Was Shunned: in the Mexican Museum's "From the West” Exhibit, Frontera Magazine pp.32,33 | |
| Pincus, Robert L., Art Review, San Diego Union Tribune, Sunday, June 2, p E 1,7. | ||
| 1993 | Urban, Hope. Art Reviews, L.A. Reader, Thursday, May 6. | |
| Grayson, Mathew, Art, Detour Magazine, June/July. | ||
| Kapitanoff, Nancy, Art, Los Angeles Times, Friday, October 9, p F 8. | ||
| 1992 | Goldman, Shifra M. Mexican Splendor The Official and Unofficial Stories, Visions: Art Quarterly, Spring p.12. | |
| Kandel, Susan, Calendar – Art Reviews, Los Angeles Times, Thursday, June 11, F7. | ||
| Continuing and Recommended, ArtScene, July/August, p 18. | ||
| 1991 | Benavídez, Max. Illuminating the Invisible, Los Angeles Times, Sunday, July 14, p 3. | |
| Kandel, Susan. L.A. in Review, Arts Magazine, December, pg. 89-91. | ||
| Martínez, Rubén. Free-Trade Art, L.A. Weekly, November 1-7, pp. 17-23. |
Collections (selected, 1995-2008)
| David Knaus | |
| David Roman & Richard Meyer | |
| Sally Stein & Allan Sekula | |
| Bill Griffin/ Griffin Contemporary Exhibitions | |
| Ruben Martinez/Writer | |
| Leda Ramos/Artist and Community Activist | |
| Chicano Art Collectors Anonymous | |
| Mexican Museum, San Francisco, CA | |
| Creative Artists Agency | |
| The Capital Group | |
| LACMA | |
| Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia | |
| MOCA, LA | |
| Museum of Modern Art, New York | |
| Latino Museum of Art, LA | |
| USC/Fischer Gallery | |
| Williams College Museum of Art | |
| Smithsonian Museum of American Art | |
| J Paul Getty Museum |
Awards and Honors
| 2018 | The Artist Projects, TAP/LA |
| 2011 | California Community Foundation Mid-Career Artist Fellowship |
| 2006 | Alpert Award Nominee, Ucross Artist Residency recipient |
| 1999 | Centro de la Imagen, D. F., Mexico, Artist Residency |
| 1998 | Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies, Artist Commission |
| 1997 | InSite ‘97 Artist Commission |
| 1995 | Richard Seaver Scholarship |
| 1994 | Mexican Museum SF, Artist Commission and James Irvine Minority Scholarship |
| 1993 | California Arts Council, Artist-in-Residence, Second Street Elementary School, LA, |
| 1992 | Brody Fellowship |
Teaching
| 2006–2009 | Director Cerritos College Art Gallery |
| 2000–2008 | Department Chair of Photography, Cerritos College |
| 2000–present | Photography Instructor, current rank Associate Professor, Cerritos College, Norwalk, CA |
| 9/00–5/01 | Beginning and Intermediate Photography, Digital Imaging, California |
| 1/99–12/99 | State University, Long Beach |
Artist Panels and Presentations
| 2017 | Six Chicana Photographers, Occidental College, LA, CA |
| Home So Different So Appealing, LACMA, LA, CA | |
| 2014 | This Is Not A Self – Portrait Roundtable, CSUN Gallery, Northridge, CA |
| 2011 | Artist Talk, The City Proper, organized by James Welling, Margo Leavin Gallery |
| 2010 | Artist Panel, How Many Billboards, Art in Stead, MAK Center, West Hollywood, CA |
| 2008 | Aparaciones Fantasmales, panel discussion,Museo Tamayo, Mexico City, MX |
| Mexican Culture in the Photographs of Graciela Iturbide, J. Paula Getty Museum, LA, CA | |
| Point-of-View Artist Talk for Danza de la Cabrita (The Goats Dance), Photographs by Graciela Iturbide, J. Paul Getty Museum, LA, CA | |
| 2007 | Artist talk with Roberto Tejada, LACMA |
| 2005 | Insatiable Desires, Artist panel, USC Fisher Gallery, LA, CA |
| 2003 | UCLA Undergraduate Juried Exhibition, jurror and panel |
| 2000 | Recent Work, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA |
| 1999 | The Latino Aesthetic, MOCA, Los Angeles, CA |
| 1998 | Artist dialogue with Patssi Valdez, Cal State Northridge. |
| 1997 | “Youth Arts Roundtable; On Youth, the Arts, Self – Expression and Representation,” Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies (LACPS), organizer and moderator. |
| Public Image/Private Focus, Artist presentation, with Willie Middlebrook, Cal State Los Angeles."Xicana," artists panel, Self Help Graphics, Los Angeles, CA. | |
| 1996 | Intersecting Identities, Artist panel, moderated by Teresa McKenna, University of Southern California, LA, CA. |
| 1993 | “The Chicano Aesthetic; Contemporary Chicano Art," Artist lecture, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA. |
| 1992 | Breaking Barriers, Artist presentation, Santa Monica Museum of Art, CA. |
| Chicano Y Latino: Parallels and Divergence, Artist panel, El Paso Museum of Art, TX. | |
| 1991 | L.A. Iluminado, Artist Panel, Otis Parsons School of Art and Design, LA, CA. |
Curatorial Projects
| 2009 | Ismael de Anda III, Viento, Cerritos College Art Gallery, Norwalk CA |
| 2008 | Selections from the Collection of El Nopal Press Cerritos College Art Gallery, Norwalk CA |
| 2008 | Reciprocity, artists Sandra de la Loza and Brian Moss, Cerritos College Art Gallery, Norwalk CA |
| 2007 | Alex Donis, Selected Works: 1995 – 2006 |
| 2007 | Unprimed, aritists Xavier Cazares Cortez, Gary Garay, Pedro Rios Martinez and Shizu Saldamondo, Cerritos College Art Gallery, Norwalk CA |
| 2006 | Patrick “Pato” Hebert, PhotoWorks: 2000 – 2006 Cerritos College Art Gallery, Norwalk CA |
| 1998 | Co-curator, Xtrascape, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, CA |