Born one balmy night in San Bernardino California, it was not expected for Rita Leon (then baby Hernandez) to have turned out as she did. Unexpected and unfathomed, she was the youngest of six siblings in a household of chaos and dysfunction - proper for a magical and painful upbringing.

Rita always felt different and liked it that way. Being Mexican living in Southern California, and being American living in Mexico; she spent much of her developing life transforming between the rural, under-developed town in La Paz, BCS, and the cookie cutter curb-appeal of Orange County, California. Filled with fantasy of what more the world could be, Rita got to experience life in duality.

Rita’s work is directly informed by both the socio-economic misfortunes of both her family halves, supplemented by a tradition of generational trauma. These experiences are dissected through the use of plants, animals, fruits, and silhouettes that celebrate the sacrifices made for her existence. Although her themes often depict a visual violence, Rita allows beauty to shine through as well. She employs levity through quirk while examining her identity through the exploration of science, anthropology, and pop-culture.

Rita obtained a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting from the California State University of Long Beach. She Simultaneously pursued an apprenticeship in tattooing, later establishing herself at the Sleepy Lagoon tattoo parlor in Anaheim, CA. True to her adaptive ability, her art and tattoo work in tandem - each practice existing laterally but in conversation with the other.

Rita Leon

Jose Espinoza