Patrick Martinez and Jay Lynn Gomez, “Labor of Love” (2022), stucco, neon, ceramic, acrylic paint, spray paint, latex house paint, family archive photos, ceramic tile and led signs on panel; acrylic on cardboard, fabric (all photos Tara Ann Dalbow/Hyperallergic)TORRANCE, Calif. — Art can amaze, soothe, offer escape, expand the imagination, grant access to someone else’s interior life, trouble deeply held beliefs, critique entrenched social norms. At FOG Design+Art a few weeks ago, for instance, I was surrounded by inspired, challenging, strange work that was, in large part, affirmative — a testament to human ingenuity and the capacity to create beauty. That Saturday afternoon, a man was shot and...
