Jacqueline Valenzuela

Jacqueline Valenzuela’s work centers on her experiences as a woman within the Chicano lowriding world. Growing up in East LA, Valenzuela was exposed to the kinetic art of lowriders, classics, and hot rods. Her ties to car culture heightened when her fiancé gifted her "La Playgirl" –a hot pink 1975 Cadillac Eldorado. This led to a three-year fine-art hiatus to focus on painting lowriders in an auto shop instead of producing traditional oil paintings on canvas. During this time, Valenzuela gained insight into painting techniques used by auto paint technicians, redefining her practice as a fine artist. Since then, Valenzuela’s work has increasingly involved mixed media and non-traditional approaches.

Valenzuela received a BFA in Drawing and Painting from California State University, Long Beach (2019). Valenzuela has a forthcoming MFA in Drawing and Painting from the University of California, Los Angeles (2027). Her work has been exhibited nationally, including the South Gate Museum, Mexic-Arte Museum, Marietta Cobb Museum of Art, The Mexican Center for Culture and Cinematic Arts of the Mexican Consulate, The Cheech—Riverside Art Museum, the Brand Library & Art Center, Muzeo Museum, and Elverhøj Museum. Valenzuela’s work has been highlighted in both online and printed publications of LAist, Remezcla, a special re-issue of Lowrider Magazine, Juxtapoz, and Gata Magazine.