Alfonso Gonzalez Jr.

Alfonso Gonzalez Jr. is a Los Angeles-based artist who draws inspiration from his father's work in commercial sign painting. His paintings explore the everyday public surfaces of Los Angeles and the physical weathering that occurs on them. Gonzalez uses multi-layered techniques to create contemporary palimpsests, where traces of the original facade remain, allowing viewers to excavate the sedimented interactions that happen on these surfaces.

His works are not just visual metaphors, but also objects that represent the visual as a form of knowledge and language. By utilizing his family's history of labor and image-making, Gonzalez creates still-life paintings that tell a story of the city's past and present. His work has been exhibited at various galleries and museums in Los Angeles, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and the California African American Museum.