"I started painting professionally in 1985, and the idea of re-inventing myself has been a recurring theme in my life. Everything changes, everything grows, and so does my work."
Juan Daniel Estrada (aka John Zender)
Born in 1966 and raised in East Los Angeles, I grew up in a rich and diverse cultural environment shaped by Chicano youth culture. At fifteen, I lived in Mexico City, where I developed a deep respect for Los Tres Grandes—Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros—whose murals instilled in me a lasting appreciation for the power of public art. While still in high school, I won several art competitions that led to internships at California State University, Los Angeles (ceramics) and at the Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design (fine art and life drawing). After graduating from Verdugo Hills High School, I continued my studies at Otis, majoring in Fine Art and Illustration.
Born in 1966 and raised in East Los Angeles, I grew up in a rich and diverse cultural environment shaped by Chicano youth culture. At fifteen, I lived in Mexico City, where I developed a deep respect for Los Tres Grandes—Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros—whose murals instilled in me a lasting appreciation for the power of public art. While still in high school, I won several art competitions that led to internships at California State University, Los Angeles (ceramics) and at the Otis Art Institute of Parsons School of Design (fine art and life drawing). After graduating from Verdugo Hills High School, I continued my studies at Otis, majoring in Fine Art and Illustration.
During my time there, I was influenced by the New York abstract-graffiti-pop expressionist scene and became one of the early pioneers of the Los Angeles graffiti movement in the 1980s. Under the name Zender (“the rising mountain”), I held my first solo exhibition at Otis in 1987, Zender–Neo Expression. Committed to the power of public art, I went on to produce more than 300 murals throughout Los Angeles and across the United States. As founder of Creative Art Solutions, a mural company, I dedicated years to nurturing young artists and making a positive impact within communities.
Parallel to my mural work, I developed a separate studio practice in painting. My easel works have been exhibited at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Zero One Gallery, Pueblo Gallery, CSDI, ICU Gallery, and in numerous solo and group exhibitions, often alongside leading Chicano and graffiti artists. Over the years, my paintings have evolved in series, many of which are now part of private collections.
In 1995, I reached a spiritual turning point and began to explore intimate and personal ideas of spirituality within my work, influenced by Roberto Matta, Wassily Kandinsky, Arshile Gorky, Wifredo Lam, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and the Bible. This period marked the beginning of what I termed The Process of Change, a theory and practice that guided my creative direction. Most recently, I have re-embraced my given name, Juan Daniel Estrada, and created a new body of work titled Triunity—a fusion of all my past influences, representing the balance of Soul, Body, and Spirit.
Click on: Body of Works to see the entire time line of Works from 1980's to Current Work
|
|
PUBLIC ART
CONTACT INFO
EMAIL: [email protected] PHONE: 323 805-1448