Julia Elise Hong: Today de boer (Los Angeles) is pleased to present Today, a solo exhibition by Korean-born Los Angeles-based artist Julia Elise Hong. The exhibition debuts a series of new oil paintings on canvas. The title, Today, reflects the core theme of the paintings representing the present moment and an ongoing, continuous sense of existence. Hong begins each picture by building the canvases to the exact dimensions of a historical painting, setting the stage for a deep exploration of both past, present and future. Without reference to photography, she builds the compositions with expressive brushstrokes, seeking to unearth figures from within the paint itself. For Hong, her paintings serve as an intimate dialogue, akin to a conversation between two people. “Yet, for the flatness and opacity of the image, neither can fully access the other.” she explains. In these moments of separation, Hong strives to grasp something elusive, a fleeting understanding that can only be described as miraculous. Roland Barthes’ concept of Punctum—that which touches us deeply in a photograph—mirrors Hong’s exploration of this sensation, which she identifies as a moment of realization: the feeling of knowing someone or something fully, if only for an instant. In Young Man Seated Beside the Sea (after Flandrin’s Young Male Nude Seated Beside the Sea, 1837), 2024, Hong reinterprets the dimensions of the 19th-century masterpiece by French artist Hippolyte Flandrin, leaving the compositional elements intentionally ambiguous. The result is a work that challenges viewers to question the essence of the scene, inviting them to consider not only the fleeting moment of realization, but also the moments surrounding it—the anticipation, the aftermath, and the space in between. For Hong, the pursuit of a painting is not simply about capturing a singular moment, but rather exploring the journey toward it, the ever-shifting sense of time and perception. ABOUT JULIA ELISE HONG Julia Elise Hong (b. 1985 in South Korea) currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California. Hong received an MA from Columbia University in 2010, an MFA from Oslo National Academy of the Arts in 2014, and an MFA from Claremont Graduate University in 2023. Recent exhibitions include Tide Pools, Nous-ance at TRYST by the Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA; GLAMFA, California State University Long Beach, Long Beach, CA; Play It As It Lays, de boer, Los Angeles, CA; Daydream Jelly, la BEAST gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Vague Domains, Alt Projects, Arcadia, CA; At Home, IKEA residency at Surely Work Studios, Los Angeles, CA. Alongside a dynamic studio process Hong curates and writes with notable accomplishments in each arena. Today (2025) will be Hong’s first solo exhibition with de boer. ----------------------------------- Aaron Maier-Carretero: New Works de boer (Los Angeles) is pleased to present a new solo exhibition featuring the work of Los Angeles-based artist Aaron Maier-Carretero. The exhibition will include paintings and sculptures rooted in Maier-Carretero’s dynamic drawing practice. Maier-Carretero’s process begins with intuitive mark-making, where repetitive movements and spontaneous gestures form the building blocks of his work. In this exhibition, Maier-Carretero returns to recurring motifs—ranging from playful figures like "scaredy cats" and "sardines," to the familiar comfort of flowers and still lifes—imbuing them with a tension between humor and melancholy. The result is a body of work that is light and introspective. "Drawing is where everything begins," says Maier-Carretero. "It’s about finding rhythm in my lines and pushing the boundaries of what feels comfortable." This tension between freedom and constraint is central to his process, whether working in monochrome or through collaborations with his younger self—“little Aaron”—who provides a fresh, unfiltered perspective that disrupts the artist’s usual instincts. ABOUT AARON MAIER-CARRETERO Aaron Maier-Carretero is a Latinx artist born in 1987. He obtained his BFA from the School of The Art Institute of Chicago and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Maier-Carretero has exhibited at the Queens Museum, NY; Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO; Sculpture Center, NY; The National Arts Club, New York City; The Art Institute of Chicago, IL; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL; The Phillips Collection, Washington, DC; The University of Maryland Art Gallery; the Washington Project for the Arts; NADA New York, EXPO Chicago, and UNTITLED Miami. His work is held in the collections of the Phillips Collection, Washington; The Ned Nomad Collection, Washington, D.C., The University of Maryland Art Gallery, College Park, MD; the Art Bank Collection and the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities in Washington, DC; The Pizzuti Collection, Columbus, OH; The Bunker: The Beth Rudin DeWoody Collection, Palm Beach, FL, and numerous private collections. He lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.