HELY OMAR GONZáLEZ

Hely Omar González is a painter based in Long Beach, California. He earned his BFA from Laguna College of Art & Design. González’s work draws from his personal experiences growing up as a first-generation Mexican American in the culturally rich and diverse Central Valley of California. Borrowing from documentary strategies, González uses the framework of narrative fiction as he reconsiders representations of labor, race and leisure. González’s work has been exhibited at venues including the Santa Monica Museum of Art (now the Institute for Contemporary Art Los Angeles), Charlie James Gallery, Ochi Gallery, UTA Artist Space, Praz-Delavallade Projects and Tlaloc Studios in Los Angeles, CA; Muzeo Cultural Center in Anaheim, CA; and the Long Beach Museum of Art, Artistic Edge Gallery, Rancho Los Cerritos, The New Americans Gallery in Long Beach, CA and Open Gallery in Long Beach, CA. His work has been featured in publications including LA Weekly, HYPERALLERGIC and the Long Beach Post.