Art & Identity
IT WAS AT his grandfather’s ranch in Coalcomán, Michoacán, that first-generation Mexican American painter Rafael Mejia initially encountered the themes that now reverberate throughout his work: mystery, veracity and the serenity of the countryside.
“In a way, I had many different people, with different ways of life, to look up to when I was little,” he reflects. Traveling from his home in San Diego County to visit his grandfather, Mejia recalls noticing how his grandfather’s life seemed intertwined with a certain honesty and connection to the land. Observing life across the border—one he describes as full of “necessity and bluntness”—he witnessed the hard work of tending animals and crops, memories he says he has come to cherish and mourn simultaneously. Those experiences now fuel the deep exploration of memory, ritual, spirituality and cultural identity that characterize his portraiture.
“I like to approach painting as a contemplative process, rooted in a mixture of observation and constructed narratives. I want to bridge ‘the old’ with ‘the new,’ whatever those two phrases inspire at the moment,” he says. This perspective was shaped by the contrasting realities he witnessed growing up. “My work explores many themes throughout various paintings, but to name a few: poverty, resilience and death are contemplated often. For me, these themes are tied to the immigrant story and the reasons why people are pushed to migrate.”
Mejia’s exhibition at Art Depot Gallery in Fontana, California, from August 8 to October 4, features new large-scale oil paintings that he says are unfolding with symbolic nuance in a fresh way.
He aims for those who experience his work in person to find themselves in a space of quiet contemplation, taking a moment simply to breathe and observe. He also would like them to reflect on what he calls the Mexican presence and its place within Southwestern history. “I hope they do so without fear and suspicion,” he shares, “but rather as something with historical relevance and depth.” —Doreen Manning
contact informationrafaelmejiafineart.com
upcoming showSolo Show, Art Depot Gallery, Fontana, CA, August 8-October 4.
This story appeared in the August/September 2026 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Subscribe today to read every issue in its entirety.
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