June's Featured Faculty: Nery Gabriel Lemus 

Written by Regina Ender

What makes Nery Gabriel Lemus such an effective educator is his active involvement in the arts community. In addition to his work as an assistant professor in the Department of Art and Design, Professor Lemus produces incredible works of art displayed throughout Los Angeles.

Currently, Lemus is being commissioned by the Music Center in Downtown L.A. to create a 22-foot outdoor banner featuring his work. The banner is a collection of photographs he will take of first-generation American musicians holding images of their immigrant parents. Additionally, he has a solo exhibition on display at the Charlie James Gallery in Chinatown. Through the lens of “The New Colossus,” the exhibit explores immigration by drawing inspiration from a sonnet written by American poet Emma Lazarus in 1883 to raise funds for the construction of the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal. To date, Lemus said the proudest moment of his career was being included in the first Made in L.A. biennial exhibition at the Hammer Museum which showcases artists in the Greater Los Angeles Area.

Lemus earned his bachelor of fine arts from the Art Center College of Design in 2007 and earned his master of fine arts from California Institute of the Arts two years later. Throughout his career, Lemus has landed himself many fellowships including the Mignone Fellowship, the C.O.L.A. Individual Artist Fellowship, and the Armory Teaching Fellowship. He was recognized with the Rema Hort Mann Foundation Award in 2013 and was given the California Community Foundation’s Mid-Career Grant in 2014. In addition to his success as a visual artist, Lemus is also a published author. He wrote a chapter in the book In Black and Brown Los Angeles entitled “On Fallen Nature and the Two Cities,” published in 2013, and his article “Speaking Love to Power: An Artist’s Approach to Conflict Resolution” was published in 2016.

Before he became a professor, Lemus was a Therapeutic Behavioral Specialist where he provided caregivers with tools to set clear expectations and foster healthy relationships with children. An added hurdle, many of the children faced mental health challenges and behavioral issues. Lemus maintained this job throughout graduate school and said the experience had a meaningful influence in his art.

Lemus said he loves teaching at APU because he enjoys the opportunity it allows to connect course content to faith. Also, being an effective professor means understanding current trends and new information in the field to share with his students, so teaching also helps ensure he is staying up-to-date in the art scene. He also enjoys the process of making mistakes and experimenting, which he said is a learning experience for both him and his students. Lemus said he works to break down the stigma of the “starving artist,” encouraging his students that they can really have a successful career in the arts. He believes every industry needs artists because, by nature, they are creative problem solvers. 

Words of Wisdom: “Work hard and treat every project as an opportunity. Also, help people out. You would be surprised how many opportunities come from helping peers.”

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