Evita Tezeno’s collage paintings employ richly patterned hand-painted papers and found objects in a contemporary folk-art style. Her work depicts a cast of characters in harmonious everyday scenes inspired by her family and friends, childhood memories in South Texas, personal dreams and moments from her adult life—and influenced by the great 20th century modernists Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, and William H. Johnson—scenes of joy animate her vision of a Black America filled with humanity.
As the recipient of a 2023 Guggenheim Foundation fellowship, and the prestigious Elizabeth Catlett Award for The New Power Generation, Tezeno has built a career as an acclaimed multi-disciplinary female artist. Tezeno’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Dallas Museum of Art; African American Museum of Dallas; Figge Art Museum, Davenport; Embassy of the Republic of Madagascar; Pizzuti Collection, Columbus; and Jorge M. Pérez Collection / El Espacio 23, Miami, among others. In addition, her work has been acquired by prominent collectors, entertainers, media personalities and athletes, including Esther Silver-Parker, Samuel L. Jackson, David Hoberman, Denzel Washington, Star Jones, Laurie David, and Susan Taylor, among others.
Recent solo exhibitions include Out of Many, Houston Museum of African American Culture; Evita Tezeno and Jas Mardis: Sharing Memories, ArtCentre of Plano; Memories Create Our Yesterdays and Tomorrows, Thelma Harris Gallery, Oakland; and Memories That Speak To My Soul, Stella Jones Gallery, New Orleans. Her solos show The Moments We Share Are the Memories We Keep is currently on view at Luis De Jesus Los Angeles.
[excerpted from Luis De Jesus website: www.luisdejesus.com]