Jorge A. Jiménez Jr. | Por la Mano

August 16 - October 4, 2025

Opening Reception: September 6, 4-6pm

In his debut solo exhibition at Craig Krull Gallery, Jorge A. Jiménez Jr. makes visceral offerings: his clay likeness holds flowers; an anatomical heart blooms with a marigold; and a pair of lungs seems to grow roses. Bodies seem to have turned inside-out, revealing their delicate pieces and tender interiors.

A consummate maker and first generation Mexican-American, Jiménez Jr. creates dynamic ceramic installations that function as open-ended self-portraits exploring individual identity and systems of belonging. Each collection of objects plays with rituals and personal belief systems: the mind, body and spirit triad manifest as sculptures of literal organs, while the Christian trinity of father, son, and holy spirit appear as a male figure, a crab, and a skull. Iconography from the artist’s ancestral Mexico, like these flowers and skulls, are stylized in the fashion of his beloved comic books. Jiménez Jr.’s figures and objects are not necessarily locked into their arrangements—they can be recombined and transformed. All together, these modular portraits are ofrendas, fluid altars to selves past, present, and future. 

Jiménez Jr. is a Los Angeles-based artist originally from Oceanside, California. The son of immigrants, Jiménez Jr. uses his art practice to celebrate and elevate his culture. He often reflects on his upbringing, drawing from both cherished memories and personal heartaches to create sculptural work combining personal narrative, cultural motifs, and material exploration.

Currently the Studio Manager at the American Museum of Ceramic Arts, Jimenez Jr. works at the intersection of education and fabrication. He has held positions at Santa Monica College and Scripps College, and assisted artists including Simone Leigh, Rubi Neri, Julia Haft-Candell, and Anna Sew-Hoy.

View works
Press release
About the artist