Emilia Cruz

Emilia Cruz (born 1993) is a Mexican-American artist known for her oil and acrylic paintings depicting women of color in nature.[1]

Biography

Emilia Cruz was born in 1993 in San Diego, California and raised in Simi Valley.[2] She currently resides in Ventura County, California.[3] As a child, she traveled back and forth to Tijuana, Mexico to visit family.[2] Emilia attended Atherwood Elementary School and Royal High School.[2] She is pursuing a BA in Illustration at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California.[2] While studying, she teaches classes to young artists between the ages 3–12 at Plaza de La Raza located in Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles, CA.[1]

Notable art

One of her best-known paintings is titled Am I too dark?.[2]

SPARC, Venice, CA, When She Rises (2018)

Emilia Cruz’s artwork was featured in the When She Rises exhibition at SPARC in Venice, Los Angeles in 2018.[3] The theme of the exhibition revolves around social justice and ecology, and its relation to the artist and their community.[4]

Netflix Series Gente-fied (2019)

Emilia Cruz’s artwork was commissioned to be a part of the Netflix series 'Gente-fied' in 2019.[1][2] Cruz’s artwork were the paintings that Ana Morales, the main character, paints in the series.[1] Her main role was to create paintings of fictional characters.[1]

CNN en Español, Proyecto Ser Humano (2019)

In 2019, Emilia Cruz was commissioned by CNN en Español to create a painting for Proyecto ser Humano.[2][5] Her painting was expected to demonstrate diversity, inclusion, and solidarity.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Recinos, Eva (June 10, 2020). "Meet Emilia Cruz, the Painter Behind Ana's Art on Gentefied". Remezcla. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Salkin, Ezra (July 16, 2021). "Her culture on canvas: Simi artist creates paintings for Netflix's Gentefied". Simi Valley Acorn. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  3. ^ a b Florez Carmona, Judith (2020-01-27). "Emilia Cruz". Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social (MALCS). Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  4. ^ "WOMXN @ SPARC". SPARCinLA. Retrieved 2022-12-01.
  5. ^ a b "Emilia Cruz, pinceladas contra la discriminación". CNN (in Spanish). April 9, 2019. Retrieved 2022-12-01.

Further reading