Somehow in Los Angeles it all comes back to traffic.
By making your work presented in Hammer Museum Biennial “Made in Los Angeles”artists Patrick Martinez Freddy Villalobos and Gabriela Ruiz intended to capture the essence of the city's crowded streets through different lenses.
For more than a decade, Hammer has curated the “Made in Los Angeles” series, which features artists who grapple with the realities of living and creating here. It's an art exhibit that both pays homage to traditional Los Angeles artists like Alonzo Davis and Judy Baca while giving a platform to new faces like Lauren Halsey and Jackie Amezquita.
This year's exhibition, which opened last month, features 28 artists. As part of this group, Martinez, Villalobos and Ruiz bring their lived experiences as Los Angeles Latinos to the Westside art institution, drawing inspiration from the landscapes of their upbringings.
In creating his exhibited works, Martinez paid attention to many neon signs hanging in store windows, prompting him to create the “Hold the Ice” sign, an anti-ICE sign, and incorporate hot pink lights into his cinder block street mural, “Battle in the City on Fire.” In the interactive piece “Collective Cry,” Ruiz used flashing lights and a shuttered gate attached to a painted wood panel. Villalobos filmed Figueroa Street from a driver's perspective, observing the street's nightlife and tracking the energy surrounding the site where soul singer Sam Cooke was shot and killed.
This year, “Made in Los Angeles” does not belong to any specific theme or title – but, as always, the chosen art remains interconnected. These three artists sat down with De Los to discuss how their upbringing in Los Angeles influenced their artistic practice and how their exhibited work sparks conversations. “Made in Los Angeles” will be on public display until March 1, 2026.
The following conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.
All three of you seem to pay attention to different elements of Los Angeles' public spaces. How does your art depend on your surroundings?
Ruiz: I really got to explore Los Angeles in general by partying and going out at night. I prefer to see this city at night because there is not much traffic. This is how I started my artistic practice. I performed in fancy nightclubs and threw parties in cheap warehouses. I noticed so many things on my way to work from the Valley. I wouldn't rush on the freeway. Instead, I would take different routes to learn how to navigate the entire city without GPS and see things differently.
Martinez: That's how I started seeing neons. In 2006, I had a studio downtown at 6th and Alameda. I waited until the traffic died down, because at that time I was in Montebello. I was driving down Whittier Boulevard at night. And you see all the neon signs that are super saturated in color and glow brightly. I thought about his message. No business opened this late. They were just letting people know they were there.
Ruiz: Specifically in this work [“Collective Scream”]The street light is flashing. It reminds me of the times when I would go to a rave and accidentally see this flickering light. It is a mesmerizing thing that I observed and noted whenever I walked along the same route. There's also a moving gate [in my piece,] it's like the ones you see when you're driving late at night and everything is closed.
Villalobos: You really experience a lot of Los Angeles in your car. It's a cliché. But damn. This is true. When I left Los Angeles, I felt a little weird. I missed the bubble of my car. You can be alone in your car in a city where there are a lot of cars and people. It got me thinking about what it means, what routes people take, and how we develop community.
Patrick Martinez's Battle of the City on Fire, created in 2025, was inspired by the work of the muralist collective East Los Streetscapers.
(Sarah M. Golonka/smg photography)
It's interesting that you all found inspiration in the biggest complaints about Los Angeles. There may be something to think about when it comes to how those born here think about car culture and traffic.
Martinez: I see its effect even in the landscapes I make. I'll work from left to right, and that's how we all look at the world when we drive. I always think about Michael Mann's films when I shoot landscapes, especially at night. He has all these moments of quiet time where he sits in the car and just focuses on what's going on.
In addition to street photography, your work touches on elements of the past. There is a common belief that Los Angeles tends to ignore its past, such as when outdated restaurants close or when architectural feats are torn down. Does this idea play any role in your work?
Martinez: The idea that Los Angeles was ashamed of its past pushed me to work with cinder blocks. [in “Battle of the City on Fire”]. One of the main reasons was to bring attention to the East Los Streetscapers, muralists who painted in East Los Angeles. [in the 1960s and ‘70s as a part of the Chicano Mural Movement]. In Boyle Heights, there was one mural painted at a Shell gas station. It was later demolished, and photographs of the demolition made the cinder blocks on the floor look like a sculptural painting. This inspired me to use cinder blocks as sculpture and think about what modern ruins we pass by.
Villalobos: Speaking about Los Angeles in general, I think it's too big. But if I think about my particular neighborhood, South Central, the Black Radical Tradition comes to mind. This is where people can make something out of what other people might perceive as nothing. There is always something being created, mixed and mixed to create something that I think is beautiful. It may not be as pretty for others, but it is still a new and creative way to see things and understand what is happening in front of us.
Ruiz: The fact that my parents, who migrated to this country, came from nothing and started from scratch also ties into this idea. Seeing what they've been able to achieve and understanding how immigrants can open businesses and restaurants here says a lot about what Los Angeles really is. It's about providing opportunities that everyone has.
So it's not about ignoring the past, it's about making something out of nothing?
Martinez: For me it comes down to necessity. All over the city, people are coming together, doing what they need to do to pay the rent. It's a crazy amount of money to be here. People need to regularly adjust what they do to survive. I've been seeing this happen faster lately. There are more food vendors and scrolling LED signs advertising different things. Once you realize how expensive this backdrop can be, it stays with me.
Waiting for the Stone to Speak Because I Know Nothing About Adventure by Freddy Villalobos is a captivating work in which viewers can feel the loud vibrations passing through as they figuratively walk down Figueroa Street.
(Sarah M. Golonka/smg photography)
We talked a lot about how the past influences Los Angeles and what role it plays in your art. Have you ever wondered about the future of Los Angeles?
Villalobos: I'm very embarrassed about what I'm going to say. But as much as I love Los Angeles and as much as it has helped me become who I am, I wouldn't be mad if it fell apart. Many people from my area have already moved to Lancaster, Palmdale and the Inland Empire. When I go to IE, it feels a little like Los Angeles, and I'm not necessarily mad about it.
Ruiz: It's really difficult to predict what the future holds for anyone. Even with art, what will happen? I don't know. It's really hard to foresee the future when there is a constant cycle of bad news about censorship and lack of funding.
Martinez: It's grim. It's cloudy. This whole year has been so hard and everyone talking about it is only making it worse, right? We're facing economic despair and it's all tough. Who knows what the future holds for us? But the ruling class is definitely taking steps to turn this into something.
