This Los Angeles Hotel Continues to Champion Local Female Artists

Hotel Figueroa, a stylish boutique hotel in Downtown Los Angeles, is championing local female artists with its new interactive exhibition.

With captivating work from Californian artists, the hotel has been a place for art and creativity since it opened in 1926. The hotel was originally a YMCA that provided a safe haven for females who were traveling solo without a male chaperone—something that was prohibited during this time. Since its beginnings, the hotel’s spirit has always been predominately feminist, and this is shown even 96 years later through its eye-catching interiors. The hotel showcases mixed media like photography, paintings, and sculptures, and each piece throughout the Featured Artists Exhibit complements one another, honing in on the skill and craft from each artist.

New for this year, The Emergence exhibit has been designed by Los Angeles-based visual artist Ruthanna Hopper, who was recently announced as the 2022 Featured Artist. Hopper’s art has earned a year-long residency, gracing the walls of the hotel’s public spaces and the art-centric Figueroa Suite.

The Emergence is a series of stunning oil and acrylic paintings that take a look at how change and growth has played a part in the last two years. Hopper said that the pieces “explore unresolved memories, heirlooms and movement,” and “originate from a personal and collective wintering and are an offering to regenerate, to resurface and to renew.”

“Inspired by the history of the Hotel Figueroa as a revolutionary, first of its kind space for women to safely travel, The Emergence is about coming out of the dark wintering and emerging on the other side; of embracing the hope of a seed turning to flower, as we welcome the possibility of change that each season of life brings with it. The paintings are a process of dealing with unresolved visceral responses to life. How do we peel away the past to unearth beauty: patterns, textures, recollections, people, energies, and our identities — processing, uncovering, and discovering until all of these fragments synthesize,” says Hopper. She adds, “I am incredibly honored by the opportunity to show these paintings at Hotel Figueroa with its remarkable history in support of women artists and travelers that resonates deeply within me.”

Hotel Figueroa’s galleries rotate on a regular basis, allowing guests to marvel at the work of some of California’s most prestigious female artists. On display until spring 2023, Hopper’s work has been directly influenced by the strong and powerful women in her life, and paintings include “Prophetess”, a piece of work dedicated to her grandmother and “Consorting with Heirlooms” for her mother.