“My multimedia practice weaves together Los Angeles landmarks, Spanish art history, and the lived experiences of my Mexican-American heritage and queer community. Through photography, I document the people who shape my world— capturing intimate moments at Pride festivals, quiet gatherings, and celebrations that become spaces of refuge and connection. My poetry chronicles travels and friendships across Southern California, mapping the emotional geography of belonging. These modes converge in my painting practice, where the act of creation becomes performance itself. Spiritual ephemera and figures pulse across my canvases in a diaristic approach that transforms personal narrative into visual language. As both an American and Mexican citizen born and raised in California, I navigate the complex legacy of Spanish colonialism—the language that shapes my thoughts, the church that informs my spirituality, and the rituals that mark time. Through this intersection of mediums, I create work that honors both the weight of history and the vitality of present-day queer Chicano experience in Los Angeles”.

Marcel Alcalá (b. 1990, Santa Ana, CA) has had solo exhibitions at Marlborough, New York, NY; DeliGallery, Brooklyn, NY; Mickey Gallery, Chicago, IL; and Night Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. Theywere a participant in Made in L.A. 2023: Acts of Living, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA. Their work has been featured in group shows at Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA; Ballroom Marfa, Marfa, TX; Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, CA; Lyles & King, New York, NY; and Simon Lee Gallery, New York, NY, among others. Alcalá has exhibited in numerous museums and institutions including Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, IL; and Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles, CA. Their work has been written about in Flaunt, Hyperallergic, LA Times, LA Weekly, and PAPER, among others. They have been an artist-in-residence at Skowhegan (2022) and Tom of Finland Foundation, Los Angeles (2020). Alcalá lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.