Skip to Content
Art

Preview: Teen Angels at the LA Art Book Fair

[dropcap size=big]T[/dropcap]een Angels Magazine, Kill Your Idols, and Printed Matter proudly present TEEN ANGELS, an exhibition featuring the artist known as Teen Angel who in 1977 began working working full time as an artist and writer for Lowrider Magazine. In 1981 he ventured into publishing on his own and started Teen Angels Magazine; with no constraints, he was able to create a magazine just the way he wanted featuring artwork, dedications, photographs, poems, and articles all focusing on life in the streets of the Varrios of California and the Southwest. Long before MySpace, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or any other form of social media existed, if you were a teenager or young adult from the Varrio and wanted to know what was happening in other Varrios across the United States, there was only one place to find out, Teen Angels Magazine.

From the late 70’s through the 90’s, Teen Angels Magazine gave young Chicanos an outlet to connect with other Chicanos through dedications, pen pals, poems, photos and art. Rejected by larger chain stores, the only place to find Teen Angels was in liquor stores and small mom-and-pop markets in the 'hood'. He went on to create over 200 issues which today are highly collectable due to their rarity. Teen Angel passed away in early 2015 but his legacy lives on.

The exhibition will include original Teen Angels Magazine cover art, the entire collection of Teen Angels Magazine's 200+ issues, model cars, miniature buildings and more, all created by Teen Angel himself, including many unpublished, never before seen original pieces of artwork.

This exhibition is made possible by the generous support of LEVI'S.

Please enjoy this selection of preview images from work that will be displayed at the fair, along with the cover of one of the limited edition Teen Angels books which will be available for sale.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

Brisket Pupusas Bring Ray’s BBQ Back to Its Salvadoran Roots in Huntington Park

“This is a special item that we kind of gate-kept,” says Sebastian Ramirez of the giant masa treats stuffed with stretchy mozzarella, Salvadoran frijoles de seda, and hand-chopped brisket that’s been smoked for 16-18 hours on post oak in the bellies of Ray’s two behemoth J&R Smoke-Masters. 

May 13, 2025

The Nine Best Tacos In The Inland Empire 

From tacos de canasta in Fontana to brain tacos in San Bernardino and insanely tasty puffy tacos filled with chile verde in Alta Loma, these tacos fuel the Inland Empire's working class and taco fanatics. All are worth the drive.

May 13, 2025

Post-Punk Rising Star Depresión Sonora on L.A. Culture Shock and Tacos

L.A. TACO caught up with Madrid’s rising post-punk crooner over tacos de pulpo on Sunset Boulevard. We talked about the critical differences in the tacos in L.A., Spain, and Mexico, his favorite cheeseburger in Los Feliz, and a new album out soon.

May 12, 2025

Baekjeong KBBQ Brings Its Star Galbi Back to Koreatown

While a pop-up in East Hollywood offers Nigerian and Kenyan influences in dishes like rosemary lamb suya and short rib biriyani, and Anthony Anderson and Cedric the Entertainer bring brisket to an L.A. mall.

May 9, 2025

City of L.A. Quietly Abandons Plans To Expand Electric Car Share Program To South L.A.

BlueLA shut down last month after the city received a multi-million dollar grant to expand the car share service into South Los Angeles.

See all posts