Fantasma Paraiso / Phantom Paradise (2024)
A Multi-Site Ephemeral Portrait of Los Angeles
fantasma paraiso / phantom paradise is a multisite exhibition by artist Felix Quintana commissioned and presented by public art nonprofit Los Angeles Nomadic Division (LAND). From February – March 2024, Quintana’s mixed-media works will form an ephemeral portrait of Los Angeles by placing his signature portrait and landscape photography directly in the locations that they represent. His billboards, wheatpaste posters, vinyl banners, and signs uplift the beauty of the day-to-day routines and the emblems of diasporic communities of Los Angeles. Quintana encourages a slowing-down and flattening of the past and present through his unique cyanotype style of combining photography, print-making, collage and mixed-media.
fantasma paraiso, inspired by and named after a mixtape left behind by Quintana’s late father, will populate the city with familiar details like awnings, store windows, teenagers on bikes, donut trails in an empty parking lot, as well as images pulled from Quintana’s own family archives. Understanding that his own subjective perspective is just part of a larger chronicle, Felix has held public portrait sessions, and invited public contributions of personal images and archives to create these images. Quintana also embraces source material and inspiration from Google Street View, Swap Meets, and handmade signage.
Quintana chose to focus on collaborating with locations that are deeply personal, and also point to the disappearing histories of the city’s immigrant families and businesses in Southeast, Central, and East Los Angeles. The result is a witnessing of Quintana’s communities, and their simultaneous enduring stories of migration, and continuance. The first two installations will take place at Plaza Mexico in Lynwood and the headquarters of art education nonprofit Art Division in Westlake, with more to be unveiled this winter.
Plaza Mexico
3100 E. Imperial Hwy
Lynwood, CA 90262
Plaza Mexico, a popular destination in Lynwood, will feature several large scale print works, a digital billboard above the 105 Freeway, and floor decals throughout the site. Plaza Mexico is significant to the artist as a community hub of his hometown. Before installing the work, Quintana held a workshop where he met with community members from the area and invited them to contribute to the archival prints that appear on site.
Art Division
2418 W. 6th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90057
Quintana also installed a wall mural at Art Division, a non-profit organization dedicated to training and supporting under-served youth who are committed to studying the visual arts. Art Division is based in Westlake/MacArthur Park, the neighborhood that the artist currently calls home. Quintana hosted a conversation with local students to encourage community representation and participation in the process. Quintana will also lead a cyanotype-workshop at Art Division at a later date.