Two Exhibitions: Jacqueline Valenzuela & Peter Olson
Peter Olson: Marked for Life
Curated by Hannah Sloan & Craig Krull
Saturday, August 30
5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Vita Art Center
28 West Main Street, Ventura, CA 93001
Craig Krull Gallery and Hannah Sloan Curatorial & Advisory are delighted to present a selection of unique ceramic vessels by Philadelphia based artist, Peter Olson, at Vita Art Center, Ventura, California, on view August 30 through October 25, 2025. A public reception will be held Saturday, August 30th from 5-7pm.
Peter Olson began his photography career in the 1970s when he founded the punk rock magazine, New Sound. Subsequently, he became a street photographer, architectural photographer, sports photographer and even corporate head shot photographer.
Around 2013, he developed a passion for ceramics and looked for ways to combine his two interests. Recognizing that simply adding photos to the surface of ceramics was rather commonplace, he invented a form of ceramic narratives in the tradition of ancient Greek vessels that told mythological stories around the circumference of their forms. However, Olson’s figures are not gods and goddesses, but often average people on the street. He transfers ink from his photographic images onto his own, highly accomplished, wheel-thrown pots. In fact, all the images on Olson’s pots come initially through his camera, even the filigree and architectural elements that he photographed at the V&A and British Museums. He then meticulously hand colors every element, achieving the appearance of fine Sèvres porcelain.
His recent series, Marked for Life, at Vita Art Center, depicts people whose bodies are covered with tattoos, a parallel to Olson’s own practice of decorating the bodies of his ceramic forms.
“The portraits in this series were all taken on location in Olson’s native Philadelphia, and each ceramic work becomes a kind of memorial to its subject. Their images are combined with elaborate decorative designs made from an amalgamation of vintage illustrations of the human corpus, and decorative motifs from art museums and ancient manuscripts, to create kaleidoscopic imagery celebrating the temporality of our bodies, and the endurance of our legacies.”
/ Ceramics Now, 2024
Peter Olson’s works can be found in the permanent collections of Beth Rudin DeWoody, The Crocker Museum, The Scripps College Ceramic Collection, the Asheville Art Museum, and the George Ohr Museum, among others. His published monographs are in the permanent collections of The Getty Museum and the Mint Museum.
He has exhibited at the American Museum of Ceramic Art, The Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art, the Asheville Art Museum, Fuller Craft Museum and The Crocker Museum. The artist is represented by Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica. He lives and works in Philadelphia.
Jacqueline Valenzuela: Clutch
Presented by HSC&A
Saturday, August 30
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
The Reef
1933 South Broadway, Los Angeles, CA
Join us at The Reef Art Exhibitions & Open Studios for the opening reception of Jacqueline Valenzuela: Clutch on Saturday, August 30, from 5–8 PM. The exhibition will be accompanied by a concurrent presentation from Craig Krull Gallery, Chicano Power, featuring pioneers of LA Chicana/o art, including Gronk, Judithe Hernández, and Gilbert "Magu" Luján.
Jacqueline Valenzuela challenges entrenched definitions of artistic tradition, social hierarchy, and gender roles by bringing the iconography and imagery of Chicano street culture into her work. An interdisciplinary artist, her practice functions as a personal and cultural journal that reflects the experiences of women in Los Angeles’ lowrider community. Valenzuela’s three years working in the automotive industry—where she honed the specialized skills needed to execute complex paint designs on lowrider cars—deeply influenced her technique and subject matter. HSC&A is pleased to present a selection of paintings that celebrate the women of LA’s lowrider community, the paint jobs on the incredible cars they own, and the urban streets where they drive—low and slow. While the exhibition title, Clutch, refers to a car mechanism, it also signals a person who performs well under pressure. At a pivotal moment in LA’s cultural history, Valenzuela’s work creates space for underrepresented communities and honors the pastimes and passions that give Los Angeles its distinctive character.
To attend the reception, reserve your complimentary ticket here:
“I view the art making process as a sacred space, similar to ritual. This perspective was gained through the six years I’ve spent as a lowrider owner and fine artist. The mere act of building or cruising a lowrider has spiritualistic underpinnings. It is an act of worship. I see this thought process materialize itself in my own art making practice as I know that every choice I make is intentional and rooted in the authenticity it takes to be a woman in the lowrider world. My art practice reflects the deep roots I have planted in the lowrider community by bridging the gap between fine art and this underrepresented community.”
/ Jacqueline Valenzuela
Jacqueline Valenzuela (b. 1997, East Los Angeles) is an interdisciplinary artist whose work explores personal narrative and the roles of women in the Chicano lowrider scene.
Bridging fine art and car culture, her practice reflects a deep connection to her community. She earned her BFA from Cal State Long Beach and is currently pursuing her MFA in Painting & Drawing at UCLA (2027). Her work has been exhibited at the South Gate Museum, Mexic-Arte Museum, Marietta Cobb Museum, The Cheech, and Elverhøj Museum. In 2024, she presented her first solo museum exhibition, Con Safos, Con Fuerzas, at the Bakersfield Museum of Art, with upcoming solo shows including Divine Rides at College of the Canyons and Orison at the Brand Library. Valenzuela was a 2023–24 CAC Individual Artist Fellow and a 2024–25 Long Beach Professional Artist Fellow, and has held residencies at Blue Roof Studios, Torrance Art Museum, and ArtShare L.A.
In addition to her studio practice, she curates and teaches, founding the traveling exhibition project L.A. to S.A. and leading lowrider-themed workshops at museums and community events.
Featured Artwork:
Peter Olson, Philadelphia Portraits, This is Frey, from Marked For Life, 2024, ceramic with hand-painted overglaze, 15 x 6 x 6 inches
Jacqueline Valenzuela, Vesper, 2024, oil on canvas, 20 x 20 inches
