Ser Serpas (born 1995) is a visual artist from

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California. Serpas is known for her earth-toned paintings, installations, and sculptures made from found objects. Ser Serpas is represented by Maxwell Graham, New York.

Early life and education

Serpas grew up in the

Boyle Heights Boyle may refer to: Places United States * Boyle, Kansas, an unincorporated community * Boyle, Mississippi, a town *Boyle County, Kentucky *Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, a neighborhood Elsewhere * Boyle (crater), a lunar crater * 11967 Boyle, ...

neighborhood of Los Angeles. Her mother works for the

Los Angeles Police Department The City of Los Angeles Police Department, commonly referred to as Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), is the primary law enforcement agency of Los Angeles, California, United States. With 8,832 officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the th ...

. In 2013, Serpas moved to

Morningside Heights Morningside Heights is a neighborhood on the West Side of Upper Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Morningside Drive to the east, 125th Street to the north, 110th Street to the south, and Riverside Drive to the west. Morningsi ...

to attend

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in New York City. Before working as an artist, Serpas briefly interned with

Susanne Bartsch Susanne Bartsch is a Swiss event producer, living in the United States, whose monthly parties at the Copacabana in late-1980s New York City united the ''haute'' and ''demi-monde'', making her an icon of New York nightlife. "Ms. Bartsch's name," ...

Work

Serpas's work incorporates sculptures built from trash found on the streets of major global cities. Serpas' first solo show was in Miami's Quinn Harrelson / Current Projects in 2017. Her work includes sculptures, poetry, paintings, and photography. Serpas has completed

artist-in-residence Artist-in-residence (also Writer-in-residence), or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs that involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs that pr ...

programs in Geneva, Tbilisi, and at the

Cité internationale des arts The Cité internationale des arts is an artist-in-residence building complex which accommodates artists of all specialities and nationalities in Paris. It comprises two sites, one located in the Marais and the other in Montmartre. Approximately ...

in Paris (2023). Her work was shown at the 2024

Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932; the first biennial was held in 1973. It is considered ...

Cherish Project Space

In 2019, Serpas co-founded the artist-run project space Cherish in Geneva, together with Mohamed Almusibli, James Bantone, and Thomas Liu Le Lann.

References

Hispanic and Latino American women in the arts Transgender women artists Artists from Los Angeles Columbia University alumni 1995 births 21st-century American artists Living people LGBTQ people from California {{US-sculptor-stub