About…

Corey La Rue (b. 1987) is a painter and activist based in East Hollywood, California. Working across wood panel, paper, linen, and handwoven textiles, La Rue employs oil, oil pastel, charcoal, indigo, cochineal, and locally sourced soil to construct layered surfaces that navigate the terrain between cultural memory, psychological interiority, and the urban and natural landscapes of California and the American Southwest. His practice is rooted in Xicano identity and inflected by Jungian depth psychology and Za-zen Buddhist thought, drawing form and emptiness into sustained tension.

In June 2023, a near-fatal motorcycle accident left La Rue with permanent paralysis in his right arm and required reconstruction of his left hand. He resumed painting almost immediately, first in the ICU-relearning his practice one-handed. Discipline and continuity of practice remain at the center of his work. Together with his wife, Valerie Palomo, he co-founded Gallery Mariposa LA during his recovery, a space committed to emerging artists and community resilience.

La Rue holds an MFA in Painting from Boston University (2016), an MPS in the Business of Art and Design from MICA (2021), and a BA in Philosophy and Art History from UC Davis (2013). He is a recipient of the Denis Diderot Grant and will take up a residency at Château d’Orquevaux, France in 2027. Recent exhibitions include The Flowers Remember (Smoke the Moon, Santa Fe, 2024) and Rebuild Gaza (Monte Vista Projects, Los Angeles, 2026). His poetry and writing have appeared in Angel City Review and Art Maze Magazine, and his work is included in the Hammer Museum’s Art as Resistance (2017).