My Story
b. 1982, Los Angeles CA
Marisa Avila Sayler (she/they) is a Long Beach local who works in sculpture, painting, and drawing using both traditional and experimental media. She earned a BFA from the Atlanta College of Art in 2005, and an MFA from California State University, Fullerton in 2009. An artist since childhood, Marisa has always supported their art practice with more traditional career paths, namely education and non-profit work.
Their teaching and educational field experience ranges from art exploration with neurodivergent preschoolers, to traditional undergraduate drawing and painting instruction, to doctorate-level teaching and administration. Marisa is a founding board member and grant writer for Color Compton and the Compton Art + History Museum, a youth-focused nonprofit focused on the reclamation of Black and Brown narratives through art, community, and identity.
Since 2018, Marisa has focused on studio practice alongside virtual teaching and mentorship, studio workshops, and visiting artist lectures. They exhibit in galleries, museums and creative spaces throughout southern California, with work in private collections all over the world. Outside of the studio, Marisa and her spouse of 20 years are guiding their two exceptional young children in the art of being explorers of this universe.
Education
2009 Master of Fine Arts: Drawing, Painting and Printmaking
California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton CA
2005 Bachelor of Fine Arts: Painting
Atlanta College of Art, Atlanta GA
Select Exhibitions
2024
SALUT! 9, Nucleus Portland, Portland OR
Upon Yonder, La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles CA
2023
The Kaiju Show, Giant Robot Store, Los Angeles CA
The Plants & Flowers Show, Giant Robot Store, Los Angeles CA
The Fruit & Veggie Show, Giant Robot Store, Los Angeles CA
SALUT! 8, Nucleus Portland, Portland OR
Boundless, La Luz de Jesus, Los Angeles CA
Resident Artist, In Heroes We Trust, Los Angeles CA
2022
Master Blasters of Sculpture 14, The Hive, Los Angeles CA
Resident Artist, In Heroes We Trust, Los Angeles CA
Pure Unadulterated Joy, Brea Gallery, Brea CA
2021
Master Blasters of Sculpture 13, The Hive, LA
Group Show, Art Bar, Venice CA
2020
Grounded in Modern Abstraction, Aquila Projects, Irvine, CA
2019
Happy Hour, In Heroes We Trust, Los Angeles, CA
Brain Shower, In Heroes We Trust, Los Angeles, CA
Velvet Ropes LA, 0-0 LA, Los Angeles, CA
Love Like, That That Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
ArtShare All-Stars, Artshare LA, Los Angeles CA
Cleaners LA, Los Angeles, CA
2018
Beyond the Earth and the Sky, Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach CA
Exhibit LA, ArtShare LA, Los Angeles CA
2017
Never Have I Ever, Coagula Curatorial, Los Angeles CA
2016
Exhibition, WE Labs, Long Beach CA
2014
Cranial Snacks, Hellada Gallery, Long Beach CA
Black & White, SCA Project Gallery, Pomona CA
2013
This is the Dirt, PermaDirty Project Space, Claremont CA
2011
Telephone, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance CA
2009
After Dark: Live Drawing, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach CA
Looking into the Sun: Group Show, DDR Projects, Long Beach CA
The Rift: An MFA Group Exhibition, Fullerton CA
The Red Show, dA Center for the Arts, Pomona CA
2008
Silent Planet: A Drawing Exhibition, MFA thesis exhibition, Fullerton CA
View from the Moon, Molly Moon Salon, Long Beach CA
Dirty Fingernails Say A Lot II, Foundry Art Centre, St. Charles MO
The Quiet and Chaos of Trauma, CSUF Gallery, Fullerton CA
I-5 Gallery Juried Show, I-5 Gallery, Los Angeles CA
2007
Greater Los Angeles Master of Fine Arts Exhibition (GLAMFA), Long Beach CA
