Julia LaChica is a mixed-media artist whose work combines personal stories with broader cultural themes. She began her art career in the 1980s through printmaking and assemblage, later studying Industrial Design. After working in houseware design for two decades, she now focuses solely on her artwork, feeling liberated yet nervous. LaChica's experiences growing up as a queer daughter of immigrant parents in San Francisco influenced her identity and art. Currently, she lives in Oakland with her wife and dogs, reflecting on her impactful San Francisco years in her artistic endeavors.
For 20 years, I worked in houseware design while trying to keep my personal art practice alive. Now, I'm finally able to dedicate myself fully to my artwork, which has been both liberating and terrifying—but mostly, it feels like stepping into a space that was always meant for me.
I'm a queer daughter of a Japanese mother and Filipino father, born in San Francisco in 1963. When I was three, my family and I lost our Western Addition apartment to a fire and moved to Chinatown's public housing project, Ping Yuen - 'The Ping' we called it.
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