Ayin Es

About

A Los Angeles native, Ayin Es grew up quickly, working in the family's apparel business from a young age, then leaving an abusive home life for emancipation at age fifteen. Ayin then worked as a musician (a drummer) and seriously practiced painting and drawing while pursuing a life in both art and music.

Struck with physical disability at age thirty, Ayin left a professional music career to dedicate themselves fully to their art. They have since become known for having a distinct voice in painting using various media, such as oils, watercolor, and gouache, and at times incorporating paper, textiles, and embroidering. They also work in installation, video, and create Artist's books. The prominent collections of the Getty, Brooklyn Museum, National Museum of Women in the Arts, and multiple universities have acquired their handmade editions.

A natural storyteller, Ayin's unique artwork has been exhibited in major galleries, museums, and universities nationwide. Their paintings reside in numerous private collections, as well as public places of healing, like the UC San Francisco Precision Cancer Center, Cedar-Sinai Medical Center, and LAC+USC Medical Center. The work is candid and personal, with a vulnerability that viewers find alluring.

Ayin is a two-time recipient of the ARC Grant from the Durfee Foundation and the National Arts and Disability Center/California Arts Council. They've also won a Pollock-Krasner Fellowship, the Wynn Newhouse Award, and the Bruce Geller Memorial Award from the American Jewish University. Review publications include Artillery, LA Times, ArtScene, LA WEEKLY, ArtNowLA, ArtLTD, Art&Cake, and WhiteHot Magazine.

Now living in the California high desert, two hours east of Los Angeles proper, Ayin enjoys their life in Joshua Tree with their partner of twenty-four years. Ayin identifies as transqueer and nonbinary and is happy to be living as their authentic self.