My daily ritual begins and ends on a journey of a flight of worn wooden steps that flow over a rugged landscape, miles from my ancestral homeland; where magnificent minimalist structures direct man’s imagination towards the heavens. Native vegetation gently blankets the remains of an ancient civilization, marking the passage of time in their quest to envelop the intricately carved stones. 

Glorious sunlight caresses each stone, as it has for centuries, revealing man’s creation, nurturing the verdant growth, in a celebration of both.

It’s a graceful dance.

There is an inherent and inseparable history within each individual object, a timeless, layered, living visual language.

It is similar to music, with its intricate mathematical patterns that give form to sound. At its essence, it is a unifying, healing, expression of the soul; the rhythms of nature forged into one singular expression reverberating with the primal heartbeat of life.

There is a balance, just as there is in nature.

The spirit flows through everything like a necklace of finely strung pearls.

Juan Rojas Aguilar
2017, Topanga, California

Juan Rojas Aguilar is a multi-dimensional conceptual artist and designer. He has designed and built furniture, designed for film, television, and theater, and is an accomplished photographer and color consultant. Juan is a father, cancer survivor, and a widower. Having lost his first wife to cancer, he raised his oldest daughter before embarking on his art career.

Juan lives and works in Topanga, with his wife, designer and artist, Tamara Gould, and their youngest daughter, where he has his studio practice. He works with color, stone, glass, steel, found objects, wood, fabric, light, and space. He studied Still Photography at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, and color at the International Association of Color Consultants of North America. Trained following the tradition of a classic designer and influenced by Mexican Modernist master, Luis Barragan, his friendships with Chicano artists Beto de la Rocha and Gilbert “Magu” Lujan, and space exploration. His work, infused with music and poetry, reflects the elements, the spirit, and the atmosphere of Southern California.

RESUME

Public Art
2019-2020 San Francisco Art Commission Prequalified Artist Pool
2018    Color LA Metros Capital Arts Project; Orlando Apartments, West Hollywood, CA

Commisions
2020   Halaris Residence, West Hollywood, CA
2019   Golden Road Brewing, Los Angeles, CA

Selected Exhibitions
2020   realART Annual Summer Juried show, realART, Agoura Hills, CA
2019   The Survivor Art Series, Solo Show and Artist talk, Jennifer Diamond Cancer Resource Library, USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA
2018   The 24th Annual Sculpture In The Garden Juried Exhibition, The Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walnut Creek, CA
2017   Dia de los Muertos Art Exhibition; Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA
1995   Reconocimiento del Pueblo Olvidado, Photographic Exhibition. Arroyo Bookstore, Highland Park, CA
1994   Untitled: Untethered. 13th Annual Art Auction. Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA
1994   Sleeping Beauties: A Juried Art Exhibition. The UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Los Angeles, CA
1993   Water.  Southern California Gas Company Tower, Los Angeles, CA
1993   Countdown To The Next Millennium. Lace Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1993   Winter International Competition and Exhibition. Florida Museum of Hispanic and Latin American Art, Miami, FL
1992   Color of Light International Open Competition and Exhibition. OCLI Glass, Santa Rosa, CA
1991   Metropolis Magazine, Parsons School of Design, and International Furniture Fair, Design Explorations 2001 Competition and Special Exhibition. Jacob K. Javitz Convention Center, New York, NY

Education
USC School of Cinematic Arts, Bachelor of Arts
Santa Monica College of Design, Art, and Architecture
UCLA Extension
International Association of Color Consultants and Designers of North America

Professional Experience
Artist 1975-Present
Classic Car Restoration, Hill & Vaughn, Santa Monica, CA 1978-1980
Designer/Color Consultant, Waking State Design, Topanga, CA 2003-Present
Visual Consultant 1995-Present
Art Director/Production Designer for film and television 1995-2005
Finish Construction Supervisor, Westside Condominium Partners, Los Angeles, CA 2005-2007