Der Baca (b.1973) is a self-taught artist, living and working in Los Angeles, California. Through practice he cultivated an understanding of the theories and rules that underpin his craft, but his inspiration comes more from the streets than classrooms. Rules were learned to be ignored. Technically ever-evolving, his body of work over the years maintains a cohesive and authentic voice. Whether working with oils on canvas, watercolor soaked paper, krylon on cinder blocks walls, or carving into panels of plaster and lathe, his work invites the views directly into the throes of open-ended narratives populated by oddly familiar strangers that evoke emotion and intrigue. Through his work, Der Baca explores the fleeting nature of being in the world --how each individual’s personal memories are embedded in a communal sense of the universe, where each of us is telling the story of all of us in our own way.