August 6–September 3, 2022
Steve Turner is pleased to present All Dogs Go 2 Heaven, a solo exhibition by Milwaukee-based Zachary Ochoa that features new paintings which add to the narrative that they introduced with their 2021 solo exhibition. Where they previously depicted Girl Hero, the artist’s invented protaganist, with an array of urns, swords and other weapons bearing symbols from tarot cards, graffiti and tattoo art, they have now created new characters, familiar and iconic, yet also marked by their resemblance to Girl Hero. It is as though Girl Hero has produced offspring with Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Pluto, Goofy and Pinochio. While weaponry is largely absent, the symbols from tarot remain. The paintings combine thickly painted brushstrokes that have been overpainted with solid background colors within which float Ochoa’s precisely articulated airbrushed figures. The contrast suggests a buried history from which the new characters have emerged. According to Ochoa, this represents the evolution of their narrative as the new characters seek to abandon anger and violence in favor of love and self-acceptance.
Zachary Ochoa (born 1998, Aurora, Illinois) earned a BFA from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (2020). They had a solo exhibition with Steve Turner, Los Angeles (2021) and have had works included in group exhibitions at Spring Break, New York (2021) and Woaw, Hong Kong (2022). Ochoa creates paintings to explore their trans femme and Afro Latino identity.
Born 1998, Aurora, Illinois
Lives and works in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Education
2020
BFA, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design
Solo Exhibitions
2022
All Dogs Go 2 Heaven, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
2021
Return of the Magic Sword, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
2019
Zachary Ochoa, Riverwest Public House Cooperative, Milwaukee
Group Exhibitions
2022
EXPO Chicago (with Steve Turner)
Lost In A Spectacle, WOAW Gallery, Beijing
2021
In Crystalized Time, Museum of Museums, Seattle
SPRING/BREAK Art Show, New York
2020
NADA, Miami
I’ll Make You Sorry, The Green Gallery, Milwaukee
Part 32 of ‘By Yourself with Everyone’, Good Mother Gallery Life in a PRESSURE COOKER, Young Space
2019
Temporary [Re]Surfacing, The Real Tinsel, Milwaukee
00000 GHOOST $HOW, Gluon Gallery, Milwaukee
Bibliography
2022
“Artist talk with Zachary Ochoa,” Art of Tomorrow
“Interview with Zachary Ochoa,” Archive OO
2021
“Return of The Magic Sword: A Conversation With Zachary Ochoa,” Juxtapoz, November 29
“Issue 001: Summer 2021,” Sap Magazine
