Stonehenge (With Two Persons) Green, by John Baldessari. 2005. Mixografia print on handmade paper.
Amidst construction, houses and mom and pop stores on Adams Boulevard is an orange building that hosts an uncanny printing shop that has collaborated with artists around the world. Known as Mixografia, the shop highlighting a kind of printing technique aims to produce high relief 3D prints of an artist’s creation.
This three dimensional fine art handmade paper prints and sculptures differ from other printing techniques, such as silkscreens and lithographs, which are relatively flat. Instead, mixografia allows for more volume and texture into the prints by using solid materials in the creations, such as wood, feathers and sand.
Originally from Mexico, Luis Remba and his wife, Lea, first had their shop in Mexico City. After they collaborated with several artists and UCLA to produce pieces for a series of art lectures, the Rembas came to the United States. Their arrival in Vernon Central was, as their son Shaye calls it, simply “luck.”
“My father had a friend with a business across the street from here who told him about the building being up for sale,” Shaye Remba said. “He said, 'Why don’t you take a look,' it’s very convenient, close to USC, MOCA, great location, very centric.”
It is in that building where the Rembas produce multiple prints of an artist’s piece by using a three dimensional model first made by the artist with any materials he or she impresses, carves, collages or builds in relief to be reproduced. Copy plates hold the image in reverse and handmade paper to withstand the high relief of the art are made. Both are forced through the press to create the prints.
Prints are made one-by-one, making the process long and detailed. At times, finding the materials necessary to produce the prints can be difficult. Remba says he first looks in Vernon Central to find the materials.
“We always try to do business close by, have close collaborations with businesses here,” he said. “in many aspects, ethnically rich people live here, businesses here have potential energy … we try to be self-sufficient with the neighborhood by collaborating with our own neighborhood.”
As for the grueling task of producing several prints of the same art, sometimes even up to hundreds, Remba sees no problem.
“It democratizes art, because it is accessible to people,” Remba said.
The latest project the Rembas are collaborating on is a piece by Venice artist Ed Roche, who is revisiting a piece he first created in the 1960s.
While Mixografia may be taking flight, with pieces being showcased in art museums such as the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Rembas see no reason to move their headquarters from their quiet block.
“It is an area that is alive, not abandoned,” Luis Remba said. “It has been changing, progressing… people use the area, therefore it is alive.”
With a new school to be opened across the street, Luis also hopes to have students visit the gallery.
While Luis and his wife Lea are still involved with the shop, it is their son Shaye who manages the day-to-day operations. Watching his son following in his footsteps and continuing on with his work is fantastic for Luis Remba, he said. He hopes to have the shop remain open for generations.
“The legacy is the artwork,” said Luis Remba. “It is very time consuming, but artists like what we do.”
