East LA’s CM2 Gallery explores the art of resistance

CM2 (aka ChimMaya Gallery - @cm2arts) is an under-the-radar gallery in East L.A. that, for nearly seventeen years, has quietly supported Latino and other artists in an unlikely location in an area often considered a cultural desert. The beautifully conceived venue is a block from the East Los Angeles E Line terminus and spans two floors with several galleries, a small gift shop on the upper level and an outdoor lounge. It’s far from the trendy gallery district of “Melrose Hill”, as well as the downtown or Westside art scenes, but nonetheless, it’s found a fiercely loyal collector base and, critically, a creative community who might not otherwise get public exposure. Founded by two Montebello residents, Steven Acevedo and partner Daniel Gonzalez, the pair has created a rotating program that responds to both contemporary issues and aesthetic art practices.

The current exhibition, titled “Unified Voices: Art of Resilience and Community,” consists of over sixty paintings and works on paper exploring timely themes of adversity, perseverance of spirit and the resilience of the human experience – including the depiction of current ICE assaults. The exhibition is a Rorschach test of myriad sensibilities and, while largely figurative, reveals an enormous range of imagery, color and technique, so it’s best to take in the exhibit unhurriedly. 

Abel Alejandre’s “The Jingoist, 2003”, is prophetic, painted long before the current immigration raids, when the artist was concerned with the performative patriotism that was prevalent in the U.S. during the invasion of Iraq. The haunting painting depicts a figure, cloaked in flag remnants, which harken back to his family’s work in L.A.’s garment district. “I wanted to connect questions of patriotism, who counts as an American, and my family's sense of belonging during a period when Brown people from the Middle East faced heightened scrutiny…the embers of such displays, in this case, jingoism, extend far beyond any single administration or event and further unravel our contentious country.” It’s a troubled legacy that continues today.

Artist CiCi Segura Gonzalez approaches the current outrage of ICE invasions with a kind of visual timeline. Titled “Occupied L.A., 2025”, the picture is an oblique reference to Picasso’s classic anti-war work “Guernica, 1937”, which was painted to protest the Spanish Civil War. Gonzales’s homage is jarring, with a similarly subdued black and grey background palette which serves to dramatically foreground the painting’s images. Included in her visual montage is U.S. Senator Alex Padilla who was forcibly removed from an ICE press conference, and Jaime Alanis, a farm worker who subsequently died as a result of an immigration raid. The outrage in the piece is visceral. 

Jose Sanchez III offers a trio of elegantly poignant paintings, modest in size at 16”x20,” all composed in 2025. The conceptually driven works reveal singular and unmistakable messages. “Works Harder Than Your President” highlights a portrait of a street vendor in the foreground and, in the background, stylized graffiti announcing the work. “Loves More Than Your President” depicts a woman selling corn and lastly, “Cares More Than Your President”is a pensive tableau of a gardener with his leaf blower. Each picture is a distinct, haunting homage to immigrants’ grit and passion - the changing faces in each portrait representing the various Maya, Mexica and Olmec cultures. 

Angela Maria Ortiz S. uses digital photography to document the current political climate and the straightforward color photograph, “1 No Kings Series, 2025”, sharply captures recent protests and marches. And, in a shift of tone, Robert Palacios’s “Holy Moly Guacamole, 2025” presents a bit of wry humor and respite in what can be an overwhelming exhibition. At 12 by 15 inches, the small work is a send-up of cultural icons – guacamole, the Virgin Mary and more are pictured with impressive precision.

The paradox here is that Western society is often obsessed with Latino culture and cuisine – yet repudiate and expel the source of that culture, immigrants and non-immigrants alike – as convenient political imperatives. The exhibition is an inspiring and hopeful examination of a resilient community under assault. It’s well worth the trip.

CM2, 5251 E Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles 90022.