Maia Cruz Palileo, Nochebuena, 2013, oil on canvas, 33″ x 48″. Image via Cuchifritos Gallery

Maia Cruz Palileo’s show “Lost Looking” is at Cuchifritos Gallery through February 6. Many of her paintings tell the story of her family’s emigration from the Philippines to America, confronting “the disconnect between memories, stories, imagination and experiences.”

“The imagery in my work is rooted in the American Midwest, where I was born and raised,” she told MoMA P.S.1 during a studio visit. “In 1999, my mother suddenly died, completely severing my connection to home, both geographically and psychologically. My naïve sense of wholeness and security was changed forever and I’ve been making work about it ever since.”

You can see more of Palileo’s work at Cuchifritos Gallery’s site. Her show there is curated by Jordan Buschur.

TV Tray, 2013, oil on panel, 16″ x 20″. Photo: Samantha Wrigglesworth, via Cuchifritos Gallery

The Woods, 2013, oil on canvas, 52″ x 60″. Photo: Samantha Wrigglesworth, via Cuchifritos Gallery