EL MAC
RETNA
year/ 2025
EL MAC
EL MAC (Miles MacGregor) was born in Los Angeles and began painting both smaller indoor works and public murals and graffiti in Phoenix in the mid-1990s. He has developed a unique visual aesthetic and rendering style that uses repeating contour patterns. His work draws on influences from classical European art, social realism, symbolism, and devotional art, as well as the Chicano and Mexican culture he grew up around. He is best known for his meticulous paintings and large-scale murals that explore feminine beauty and honor ordinary people who are overlooked or marginalized. For over 20 years, he has aimed “to uplift and inspire through careful, perfectionist renderings of both the sublime and the humble.”
RETNA
RETNA (Marquis Lewis), born in Los Angeles in 1979, is a contemporary artist whose visual language fuses graffiti, calligraphy, and ancient script. Emerging from the late ’90s street art scene, he developed a distinctive text-based style blending Arabic, Hebrew, Asian, and Latin influences into rhythmic, indecipherable symbols. His bold, monochromatic works balance structure and spirituality, creating a visual harmony reminiscent of music and prayer. Drawing on his Salvadoran, African-American, and Cherokee heritage, Retna’s art bridges cultures, transforming walls, galleries, and luxury collaborations into meditative reflections on identity and connection.
