Daniela Garcia Hamilton (b. 1995) is a first-generation Mexican-American painter whose work delves into the themes of temporary residence, immigration, and marital status within the context of a family unit. Born to immigrant parents, her art vividly documents scenes of domestic encounters across various timelines, reflecting on the transient nature of legal and marital status and its profound impact on family dynamics.
Garcia Hamilton’s paintings explore her personal reflections on how these transient statuses affect familial rituals such as birthdays and religious celebrations. The fear of losing residency status, a haunting reality of her youth, parallels the death or abandonment of a guardian, leading to deportation and the fragmentation of family relationships.
Her work integrates vibrant colors and patterns to depict the richness of her cultural traditions. Through portraits of her family members, she fabricates settings that draw attention to socio-political commentary on past and present immigrant experiences. As she completed her B.F.A. at California State University, Long Beach, she began to reinterpret her traditions through an American lens, using American tile patterns as a metaphorical veil to remember these significant events.
Garcia Hamilton’s work has been exhibited extensively throughout California and internationally, with notable exhibitions in Chicago, Mexico City, Amsterdam, and Sweden. She has shown her work in esteemed galleries such as Artbug Gallery, Luna Anais Gallery, Artshare LA, the Irvine Fine Arts Center, Residency Art Gallery, and Thinkspace Projects. She has also been a keynote speaker for the undocumented commencement at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, maintaining a strong connection to her Mexican-immigrant roots.
Currently living in Oxnard, California, Daniela Garcia Hamilton continues to use her art to navigate and articulate the complex experiences of immigration, family, and cultural identity, offering a poignant commentary on the transient and often precarious nature of residency and belonging.
b.1995
Education
BFA in Drawing & Painting, California State University Long Beach (2018)
Single Subject Teaching Credential in Art, California State University Long Beach (2020)
Fairs
2024
Feria Material Vol. 10. (solo presentation), February 8-11th. Presented by Residency Art Gallery. Expo Reforma, Mexico City, Mexico.
2023
EXPO Chicago (solo presentation), April 13-16th. Presented by Residency Art Gallery. Navy Pier, Chicago IL
Solo Shows
2022
Sundays in Lake LA, Luna Anais Gallery, Los Angeles
Selected Group Shows
2023
Inner Links, Art Share LA, Los Angeles
Traditions, curated by Thinkspace & Tlaloc Studios, Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center, Anaheim
Jardin de Rosas, Open Gallery, Long Beach
Love Letters to Los Angeles, Hype Art, hosted with Sized Studio, Los Angeles
New Contemporaries 3, Residency Art Gallery, Inglewood CA
ROOTED Asserting Space in Contemporary Art, co-curated by Dee Kerrison & Carol Henke, Muzeo Museum & Cultural Center, Anaheim CA
Sacred Space: Reflections Unseen, curated by Carlos Heredia, Studio Channel Islands, Camarillo
Thinkspace x STRAAT: NDSM Group show, STRAAT Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Hawaii Walls, Thinkspace Projects in collaboration with POW! WOW! Hawaii.
Cartographies of Images in Exile, Artbug Gallery, Stockholm Sweden.
Sueños 2, Muzon Gallery, Long Beach
11x11: From Los Angeles to Mexico City, Artbug Gallery, Mexico City MX
Demasiado, Tlaloc Studios & Superchief Gallery, Los Angeles
RAIZ, Thinkspace Projects & Tlaloc Studios at The Brand Library & Art Center, Los Angeles
2022
Filling the Void, Muzon Gallery, Long Beach
Cycles, Stay Gallery, Downey CA
Tight in a Bud, Luna Anais Gallery, The Artist Tree, West Hollywood
La Trastienda, Artbug Gallery, Los Angeles
Continuum, Residency Art Gallery w/The Kinsey Collection, SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
Retrato, Tlaloc Studios, Los Angeles
Formas de Familia, Artbug Gallery, Los Angeles
Injusticia|Injustice, Warehouse 416, Oakland
Cuidate, Southgate Galley and Civic Center, Los Angeles
2021
Palindromo, Altura LA, Lincoln Heights
Drawn to Paper, City of Brea Art Gallery, Brea
35x35, Department of Cultural Affairs at the Consulate General of Mexico, Los Angeles
Defiance of Juncture, Art Share LA, Los Angeles
LA Open, Tag Gallery, Los Angeles
2020
Tarfest: Transition, Launch LA, Los Angeles
Dozier & Hazard: Ephemeral Innocence, the Summer that never was, Dozier & Hazard, Los Angeles
Made in California, City of Brea Art Gallery, Brea
The Sketchbook Show, Flatline Gallery, Long Beach
A Trace is Not a Map, Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine
2019
In the Now Figurative II, Flatline Gallery, Long Beach
CA Open, TAG Gallery, Los Angeles
Made in California, City of Brea Art Gallery, Brea CA
Insights: School of Art Annual Exhibition, Kleefeld Contemporary, Long Beach Pasadena Art Show, Pasadena Playhouse 7, Pasadena
La Luzapalooza, La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Hollywood.
2018
Variant: BFA Graduation Exhibition, California State University, Student Gallery, Long Beach
Insights: School of Art Annual Exhibition, Kleefeld Contemporary, Long Beach
Mi Gente, Drawing & Painting Group Exhibition, Dutzy Gallery, Long Beach
Auctions
2023
Vincent Price Art Museum Benefit Auction 2023, Vincent Price Art Museum, Monterey Park, CA
2022
Renovate and Relaunch- Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions: Benefit Auction, Silverlake CA
Grants & Awards
2023
Los Angeles Lakers, In the Paint Artist Grant, Lakers Diversity Inclusion.
2022
Los Angeles Lakers in the Paint Contributing Artist Program, Lakers Diversity Inclusion
2021
35x 35, Best of Show Department of Cultural Affairs Consulate of Mexico, Los Angeles Not Real Art Grant, Los Angeles CA
2019
Made in California, 2nd Best of Show, City of Brea Art Gallery, Brea CA
Publications
2023
21 under 31, Southwest Art Magazine, August/ September issue. Southwest Art Magazine Print, 2023
2022
New American Paintings issue #163, Juried Exhibitions-in-print.
Artillery Art Magazine, July/August Issue. Ad for Luna Anais Gallery
The Awakening Magazine: Vol.3, Oxnard/ 805
Key-note Speaker, Monarch commencement ceremony, California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo.
Fincar Correspondencias Vol. 6, Consulado de México, El Museo de Arte de Ciudad Juárez, Women’s Salon LA
Collections
21C Collection and Museum Hotels
Private Collection, Los Angeles, CA
Private Collection, Newport Beach, CA
California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo CA
Teaching
2020-Present: Color & Design (Painting), Art Media, Life Drawing, AP Studio Art, Computer Graphics, Westlake High School, Westlake Village CA
2020: Intro to Art, Photography, Jordan Intermediate, Garden Grove CA