Ruben Ochoa engages space as both a concept and form. Sourcing from construction materials associated with inherent histories, Ochoa’s works expose the ideological and broader sociopolitical and economic relationships that facilitate how the spaces we inhabit and move through are assembled. Ochoa’s photographs, sculptural installations, and performative sculptures invite the viewer to question their surroundings. His works investigate objects and materials that can easily be glossed over as mundane or merely pragmatic: concrete freeway walls, wooden ladders, ficus trees, tortillas, and vendor carts. He transforms these materials into large-scale installations through which he considers issues of social class and identity. His work regularly references Los Angeles, dealing with social issues that remain pressing. He recently reconfigured his family’s old work van into an informal, mobile art space that regularly traveled throughout LA. Another recent project draws upon personal, familial, and community histories by using a recognizable figure in Los Angeles—a fruit vendor and their cart—to tell interwoven, intergenerational stories. He draws attention to the region’s familiar fruit carts, paleteros, and flower stands, sponsoring new vendor carts and creating artwork around the project to call for solidarity with vendors.
Ochoa also uses everyday materials in two-dimensional works, where he approaches rust as a pigment and his compositions take full advantage of the unpredictable nature of the medium. Iron oxide’s effect on the canvas echoes the visible deterioration and class boundaries of a city. The end effect is trademark Ochoa—striking at the outset, and after close inspection, seething with undercurrents of biting commentary of today’s class and racial divisions.
Ruben Ochoa was born in 1974 in Los Angeles and continues to live and work there. Ochoa received his MFA in 2003 from the University of California, Irvine. In 2019, Ochoa completed Mis Marcadores, his first public art commission located at the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry for the GSA Art in Architecture program. He has been the recipient of a Creative Capital Foundation Grant, California Community Foundation Fellowship, and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Recent solo exhibitions have been held at Art + Practice, Los Angeles, CA; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego, CA; The Austin Contemporary, Austin, TX; and Locust Projects, Miami, FL. Group exhibitions have been at the Contemporary Austin, Austin, TX; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC; Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO; the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; the Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, TX; the Perez Art Museum, Miami, FL; the Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; and REDCAT, Los Angeles, CA. He was featured in 2008 Whitney Biennial and the California Biennial at the Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA.
His work is in many public collections including, the Smithsonian American Art Museum; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego; and Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.

“If I Had A Hashtag for Every Time Someone Tried To Hold Me Down,” 2020
79 x 216" [HxW] (200.66 x 548.64 cm)
Edition 1 of 5, 2 AP
Inventory #OCH367.01
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo credit: Robert Wedemeyer
“If I Had A Hashtag for Every Time Someone Tried To Hold Me Down,” 2020
79 x 216" [HxW] (200.66 x 548.64 cm)
Edition 1 of 5, 2 AP
Inventory #OCH367.01
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo credit: Robert Wedemeyer

"...and the earth was without form and void," 2013
"...and the earth was without form and void," 2013
Acrylic on raw linen
72" H x 108" W x 2" D (182.88 cm H x 274.32 cm W x 5.08 cm D) unframed
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo credit: Robert Wedemeyer

"Kissed in the 90011," 2007
"Kissed in the 90011," 2007
C-print, wenge frame
43" x 53 1/8" x 3 1/4"

“A bit of detritus,” 2011
“A bit of detritus,” 2011
Concrete, metal and dirt
80" H x 32" W x 32" D (203.2 cm H x 81.28 cm W x 81.28 cm D)
Inventory #OCH260
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo credit: Robert Wedemeyer

"Flock in Space," 2013
"Flock in Space," 2013
Ruben Ochoa, Nasher XChange commission, at the Trinity River Audubon Center.
Photo by Allison V. Smith for the Nasher Sculpture Center

"Grounded," 2010
"Grounded," 2010
Concrete, rebar and dirt
7' x 9' x 3'

Installation View, 2007
Installation View, 2007

"The hardest part was removing the walls/ If I had a rebar for every time someone tried to mold me...," 2007
"The hardest part was removing the walls/ If I had a rebar for every time someone tried to mold me...," 2007
Rebar, annealed wire ties, dobbie blocks
9'4" x 16'6" x 18'6", detail

“L.A. Riots in the Age of Minecraft, (re)building block no. 007,” 2013
“L.A. Riots in the Age of Minecraft, (re)building block no. 007,” 2013
Galvanized post, dirt, rubber and plastic
39 x 14.5 x 12" [HxWxD] (99.06 x 36.83 x 30.48 cm)
Inventory #OCH272
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo credit: Jeff McLane

“Post Collusion,” 2018
“Post Collusion,” 2018
Duct tape, packaging tape, dust, collage, and dirt on paper
19.25 x 14.5" [HxW] (48.89 x 36.83 cm) paper size; 24.25 x 18.25 x 1.5" [HxWxD] (61.59 x 46.35 x 3.81 cm) framed
Inventory #OCH366
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo credit: Jeff McLane

“Drunken drunken lights, lights,” 2017
“Drunken drunken lights, lights,” 2017
Nails, rust, arcylic and Rust-o-leum on paper
Each: 24 x 18 inches / Installed: 48 1/2 x 55 inches
Inventory #OCH357
Courtesy the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo credit: Jeff McLane

“Untitled,” 2017
“Untitled,” 2017
Intaglio with rust and graphite on paper
25 x 16.5 x 1.5" [HxWxD] (63.5 x 41.91 x 3.81 cm)
Inventory #OCH353
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo credit: Jeff McLane
Signed and dated in ink on recto

“Ebb and Flow,” 2017
“Ebb and Flow,” 2017
Pallets, tie wire and rebar
120 x 186 x 170" [HxWxD] (304.8 x 472.44 x 431.8 cm)
Inventory #OCH342
Courtesy the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo credit: Joshua White

“One day it's fine and next it's black,” 2017
“One day it's fine and next it's black,” 2017
Steel
75 x 25 x 24" [HxWxD] (190.5 x 63.5 x 60.96 cm) TBC
Inventory #OCH345
Courtesy the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo credit: Joshua White

“The stuff is everywhere,” 2015 - 2016
“The stuff is everywhere,” 2015 - 2016
Rust on panel
36" H x 24" W (91.44 cm H x 60.96 cm W)
Inventory #OCH330
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo credit: Jeff McLane

"Lean Back," 2007
"Lean Back," 2007
Cast concrete

"What if walls created spaces?," 2007
"What if walls created spaces?," 2007
Lenticular print mounted on Diebond, Edition of 3 + 2 AP
48" x 96" (4 panels, each 48" x 24")

"What if walls made things greener on the other side?," 2007
"What if walls made things greener on the other side?," 2007
Lenticular print mounted on Diebond, Edition of 3 + 2 AP
48" x 96" (4 panels, each 48" x 24")

"What if walls vanished from the freeway, would it make a sound?," 2007
"What if walls vanished from the freeway, would it make a sound?," 2007
Lenticular print mounted on Diebond, Edition of 3 + 2 AP
48" x 96" (4 panels, each 48" x 24")

"Exposed in the 90293," 2007
"Exposed in the 90293," 2007
C-print, wenge frame
43" x 53 1/8" x 3 1/4" [HxWxD]
- 1974
- Born in Oceanside, CA
- Lives and works in Los Angeles
- 2003
- MFA, University of California, Irvine
- 1997
- BFA, Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles
- 1996
- Parsons School of Art and Design, New York
Selected Solo and Two Person Exhibitions
- 2020
- "Ruben Ochoa," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
- 2017
- “Sampled and Surveyed,” Art + Practice, Los Angeles, CA (Link)
- 2016
- "Tripping the Light Fantastick," Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA
- “Ruben Ochoa: watching, waiting, commiserating,” Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego, CA (Link)
- 2014
- "MATRIX 169: Ruben Ochoa, 'Cloudless Day,'" The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT (Link)
- 2013
- "Dislocated Masses," Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA
- 2011
- "Cores and Cutouts", Locust Projects, Miami, FL
- 2010
- Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA
- Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, CA
- 2009
- Charles H. Scott Gallery at Emily Carr University, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- "Crooked Under the Weight," Site Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
- Collapsed, Peter Blum, Soho, New York, NY
- three the hard way, Peter Blum Gallery, Chelsea, New York, NY
- 2008
- Fall of the Wall [paper], Susanne Vielmetter Berlin Projects, Berlin, Germany
- 2007
- A Recurring Amalgamation, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles, CA
- Clastic Rupture, Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center, Buffalo, NY
- 2006
- Extracted, LA><ART, Los Angeles, CA
- Freeway wall next to a, Lizabeth Oliveria Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- 2005
- Borrowed Ladders, ESL Ι Esthetics as a Second Language, Los Angeles, CA
- 2004
- Greyscale, Voz Alta Projects, San Diego, CA
Two and Three Person Exhibitions
- 2018
- "Forty and Nine," 49 South Van Ness Forum Sculpture Public Art Project, San Francisco, CA
- 2013
- "Duet: Ruben Ochoa and B.J. Vogt", Duet St. Louis, MO, curated by Daniel McGrath
- 2011
- Beta-Space: Kevin Appel and Ruben Ochoa, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
- 2009
- ArtBasel Miami, two person presentation with Tam Van Tran, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects Booth
- 2007
- Swap, collaboration with Mark Bradford, LACMA: On-Site, Charles White Elementary Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- 2006
- Storage, collaboration with Marco Rios, 4-F Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Embryonic Loop, collaboration with Marco Rios, LA><ART, Los Angeles, CA
- 2005
- Caltransposed with Peter Tavera, Gallery 727, Los Angeles, CA
- 2004
- Rigor Motors, collaboration with Marco Rios, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna, CA, CA
- Projects by Ruben Ochoa and Michael Queenland, The Project, Los Angeles (curated by Lauri Firstenberg)
Selected Group Exhibitions
- 2023
- "Outside: In," Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens, Jacksonville, FL
- "The Land of Milk and Honey / La tierra queue mana leche y miel," Organized by the MexiCali Biennial, The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture of the Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA
- 2022
- "Lonesome Crowd West: Works from MOCA's Collection," The Geffen Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA
- 2021
- "Church for Sale," The Haubrok Collection and the National Gallery Collection, Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum für Gegenwart, Berlin, Germany
- "20 Years," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
- COLA Fellowship Exhibition, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery (LAMAG), Los Angeles CA (Link)
- "Church for Sale," Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, Germany
- 2020
- "South East North West: New Works from the Collection," San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
- "20 Years," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
- "To Tame a Wild Tongue: Art After Chicanismo," Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego, CA
- 2019-2020
- " Bound to the Earth: Art, Materiality, and the Natural World," Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego, CA
- "Open Space," BACKSPACE, Los Angeles, CA
- "The Sorcerer’s Burden," The Contemporary Austin, Texas
- 2019
- "Sculpture," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
- "Centennial: 100 years of Otis College Alumni," Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA
- "Common Bonds: Artists and Architects on Community," Art, Design & Architecture Museum, UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA (Link)
- 2018
- "Maker Faire San Diego," San Diego Art Institute, San Diego, CA
- 2017
- “Vantage,” Finishing Concepts, Los Angeles, CA
- “Down These Mean Streets: Community and Place in Urban Photography,” Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC (Link)
- “Mi Tierra: Contemporary Artists Explore Space,” Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
- 2016
- "Artworks for Change," Online Exhibition (Link)
- 2015
- "Apparitions: Frottages and Rubbings from 1860 to Now," Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; travelled to the Menil Collection, Houston, TX
- 2013
- Nasher XCHANGE: 10+ Celebration, Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, TX, curated by Jeremy Strick
- "Reverberations," Huntington Beach Art Center, Huntington Beach, CA
- "Hook, Line and Sinker: Contemporary Drawings from the Collection of Debra and Dennis Scholl", Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV
- 2012
- Lost Line: Contemporary Art from the Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
- "no desaster: sammlung haubrok bei falckenberg," Phoenix-Hallen, Harburg, Germany
- The Very Large Array: San Diego/Tijuana Artists in the MCA Collection, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego Downtown, Jacobs Building, San Diego, CA
- "my.LA," haubrok foundation, Berlin, Germany
- 2011
- Greater LA, curated by Benjamin Godsill, Eleaonor Cayre and Joel Mesler, New York, NY
- The Future Generation Art Prize @ Venice Collateral Event of the 54th International Art Exhibition La Biennale di Venezia, Palazzo Papadopoli, Venice , Italy
- 2010
- Summer Group Show, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles, CA
- The Artists Museum: Los Angeles Artists 1980-2010, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
- Future Generation Art Prize, PinchukArtCenter, Kiev, Ukraine
- Inaugural Group Exhibition, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA
- Between Here and There: Modern and Contemporary Art from the Permanent Collection, Miami Art Museum, Miami, Florida
- Invisible City, Instituto Cervantes, Madrid, Spain (Curated by Kris Kuramitsu and Christopher Miles) traveling to: Instituto Cervantes, New Delhi, India; Instituto Cervantes, Berlin, Germany; Instituto Cervantes, Tokyo, Japan
- 2009
- Counter Intelligence, Luckman Gallery at California State University, Los Angeles, CA
- Collecting History: Highlighting Recent Acquisitions, MOCA, Los Angeles, CA
- Collectors XXIV, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego, CA
- Dibujar es Pensar Proyecto Magenta, Monterrey, Nuevo Len, Mexico
- 2008
- "it's about sculpture," haubrok foundation, Berlin, Germany
- From and About Place: Art from Los Angeles, The Center for Contemporary Arts, Tel Aviv, Israel, Curated by Alma Ruiz (catalogue)
- In the Round: The 90th Anniversary of OTIS College of Art & Design, Andrew Shire Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Puerto Vallarta Arte Contemporneo 08, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (organized by Pilar Perez)
- WHITNEY BIENNIAL 2008, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
- Phantom Sightings, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles (curated by Rita Gonzalez,Howard Fox and Chon Noriega) travelling to: Tamayo Art Museum, Mexico City, Mexico; Mexico Contemporary Art Museum, Houston, TX; Museum Alamdea, San Antonio, TX; El Museo del Barrio / Americas Society, New York, NY; Museo de Arte de Zapopan, Guadalajara, Mexico
- 2007
- Multifaceted Lens, Minnesota Center for Photography, Minneapolis, MN
- Performance Z-A, 25th Anniversary for the Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York, NY
- Viva Mexico! Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland, curated by Magda Kardasz, traveling to BWA Wrocław Contemporary Art Gallery, Wrocław, Poland.
- Latitude, Artcore, Los Angeles (organized by Pilar Tompkins)
- Range, d.e.n Gallery, Los Angeles (curated by Kristi Lippire)
- 2006
- Mexicali Biennial, La Casa de la Tia Tina, Mexicali, Mexico
- The Newsstand Project, newsstands throughout Los Angeles (organized by Dan Bayles)
- Agent Once, Acuna-Hansen, Los Angeles (organized by Jason Keller)
- 25 Bold Moves: Emerging Artists Exhibit, House of Campari, Los Angeles, CA
- An Image Bank for Everyday Revolutionary Life, REDCAT Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- Otis: Nine Decades of Los Angeles Art Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
- 2005
- Happenstance, Harris-Lieberman Gallery, New York (curated by Lauri Firstenberg)
- Drive by and relax, UPSPACE, Los Angeles (curated by Chris Sicat)
- Borderless Dreams, Oceanside Museum of Art, Oceanside, CA
- Drive Time, Wignall Museum, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
- Empire.Style, ART2102, Boyle Heights, CA (curated by Peter Zellner)
- passerby, Vox Populi, Philadelphia, PA (curated by Cassandra Cobelentz)
- 2004
- FREEWAVES_Inter-State: Video on a Go, REDCAT Theater, Los Angeles, CA
- 2004 California Biennial, Arist-in-residence, Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
- Land of the Free: Americana, City of Brea Gallery, Brea, CA (curated by Tyler Stallings)
- 2003
- Picarte! Photography Beyond Representation, Heard Museum, Phoeniz, AZ
- Recess, Cirrus Gallery, Los Angeles (curated by Brienne Arrington and Dan Bayles)
- Happy Beautiful Desirable, Track 16, Santa Monica, CA
- 2002
- Better Look Twice, Pasadena City College Art Gallery, Pasadena, CA
- Whacked, Los Angeles (curated by John Souza)
Selected Projects
- 2006-2007
- Fwy Wall Extraction, 10 fwy eastbound below Soto St and Marengo Blvd intersection, Los Angeles (produced by Creative Capital Foundation)
- 2006
- Disrup, LA><ART Billboard Project, La Cienega Blvd between Venice and Washington, Los Angeles
- aint that revolutionary, LA><ART Billboard Project, corner of Santa Monica Blvd and Highland Ave, Hollywood, CA (in conjunction with the exhibition An Image Bank for Everyday Revolutionary Life, REDCAT, Los Angeles)
- 2001-2005
- CLASS: C, mobile artist space featuring over 75 artists, curators, and collaborators throughout Southern California
Awards, Grants and Fellowships
- 2021
- COLA Fellowship Grant, Los Angeles, CA (Link)
- 2013
- California Community Foundation, Getty Fellow, Mid-Career Artist (Link)
- 2010
- Future Generation Art Prize Nomination, Victor Pinchuk Foundation
- 2008
- John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship
- Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI) Investing in Artist Grant
- 2006
- Rockefeller Fellowship: New Media
- 2005
- International Studio and Curatorial Program Residency (ISCP-NYC), August-November 2007
- Creative Capital Foundation: Visual Arts Grant
- 2004
- Nimoy Foundation, California Biennial, Orange County Museum of Art: Artist-in-Residence
- California Community Foundation: Emerging Artist Fellowship
- The Durfee Foundation: Artists Resource for Completion Grant
- 2002
- University of California Institutional Research Award (UCIRA)
Teaching Experience
- 2018
- Associate Professor of Practice, USC Roski School of Art and Design
Bibliography
- 2023
- Voon, Claire. "An environmental art festival in Los Angeles seeks to counteract climate despair and inspire action," The Art Newspaper, September, 20
- Katz, Anna. "MOCA Focus: Eddie Rodolfo Aparicio," Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, CA
- Allen, David. "MexiCali Biennial art show migrates to The Cheech in Riverside," The Press-Enterprise, March 9 (Link)
- Stromberg, Matt. "Tamales, Celebs, and Hungry Collectors at Frieze LA," Hyperallergic, Febraury 17 (Link)
- Durón, Maximilíano. "The Best Booths at Frieze LA 2023, From Poignant Reflections on History to an Art Gallery in a Van," ARTnews, February 16 (Link)
- Escárcega, Patricia. "Ruben Ochoa Puts Hidden Labour Under The Spotlight," Frieze, February 15 (Link)
- Finkel, Jori. "A Vehicle for Social Justice, Bound for the Frieze Art Fair," The New York Times, February 13 (Link)
- Frieze Los Angeles. "Frieze Projects Los Angeles 2023" Frieze, February 3 (Link)
- Ludel, Wallace. "Frieze Los Angeles bringing a skyscraper, a truck- based gallery and more to Santa Monica Airport," The Art Newspaper, February 2 (Link)
- 2022
- "Church for Sale Works from the Haubrok Collection and the Nationalgalerie Collection," Exhibition Catalogue, Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
- 2021
- Miranda, Carolina. "Newsletter: How artist Nari Ward uses castoffs to create charged worlds at Deitch gallery," LA Times, July 3 (Link)
- Almino, Elisa Wouk. "A Tribute to Los Angeles’s Street Vendors," Hyperallergic, April 28 (Link)
- Keh, Pei-Ru. "Snapchat and LACMA celebrate diversity in LA," Wallpaper, April 23. (Link)
- Robarts, Stu. "Snapchat's Five Los Angeles AR Monuments: What Are They & How To View Them," ScreenRant, April 16 (Link)
- Azzarello, Nina. "LACMA + snapchat bring artist-designed augmented reality monuments to L.A. (and your home)," Designbloom, April 13 (Link)
- Vankin, Deborah. "Fruit carts flying over MacArthur Park: How you can see LACMA’s first AR monuments," Los Angeles Times, April 13 (Link)
- 2020
- Vankin, Deborah. "LACMA turns to Snapchat again, this time for a virtual monuments project," Los Angeles Times, December 8
- 2019
- Fernandez, Javier. "Beauty at the Border: A collection of Art in Architecture pieces at the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry," GSA, August 5 (Link)
- Delson, Susan. "Playful Riffs on Fact and Fiction," Wall Street Journal, July 26 (Link)
- 2018
- Shimi Roth, Minhae. "Locust Projects Turns 20: Remembering Its Most Memorable Exhibits," Miami New Times, December 4 (Link)
- Safari, Ida, “Ruben Ochoa at Art + Practice,” Artillery, January 2 (Link)
- 2017
- Shang, Danielle, “Collectors of Color on the Importance of Supporting Under-Recognized Artists,” Hyperallergic (web), November 28 (Link)
- Zellen, Jody, “Ruben Ochoa at Art + Practice,” Art and Cake (web), October 7 (Link)
- Goldberg, Vicki, “Mean Streets, Kind Cameras,” New York Times, July 28 (Link)
- Jacobson, Louis, “At the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum, a Fresh Look at Urban Photography,” Washington City Paper (web), July 21
- 2016
- Miranda, Carolina, “Last chance to see Ruben Ochoa’s latest twist on his urban landscape obsession: Giving rust new life,” Los Angeles Times (web), April 13 (Link)
- Wilcox, Larry, “Ruben Ochoa at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects,” ArtReview, Summer (Link)
- Buscemi, Lauren, “Report: San Diego,” art ltd., August
- Peterson, Karla, “Test Drive: Night at the museum,” The San Diego Union-Tribune (web), November 19
- 2015
- Knight, Christopher, Review: Apparitions at the Hammer explores low-tech art in a high-tech world, Los Angeles Times, February 13 (Link)
- 2014
- Hickson, Patricia, "Nothing But Blue Skies," brochure for "Ruben Ochoa: Matrix 169, 'Cloudless Day,'" published by Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT
- "Best Bets: June 2014," Hartford Magazine, June (Link)
- Smith, Anna M., "Nasher XChange: Ruben Ochoa," exhibition catalog to "Nasher XChange", published by The Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, TX
- 2013
- Ruben Ochoa: Flock in Space, Trinity River Audubon Center, Exhibition Pamphlet for Nasher XCHANGE: 10 Years, 10 Artists, 10 Sites, Dallas: Nasher Sculpture Center, October
- Nasher Sculpture Center Celebrates 10th Anniversary, CBS Dallas-Forth Worth, October 18
- Herren, Michael, "7 LA Artists to Watch," LA Confidential, October
- 100 Best Fall Shows, Modern Painters, September
- Nasher Sculpture Center launches ambitious project to turn all of North Texas into an outdoor museum, Dallas Voice, August 23
- Bentley, Alex, Nasher Sculpture Center unveils plans for first Nasher Xchange sculpture at Trinity River Audubon Center, Culture Map Dallas, June 14
- 2012
- Einspruch, Franklin, Ruben Ochoa, Art in America, March 8
- 2010
- Boehm, Mike, New art prize nets winner $100,000 from billionare collector Victor Pinchuk, The Los Angeles Times, December 10 (Link)
- Burge, Russell, Critics Pick: Ruben Ochoa, artforum.com, May
- Pincus, Robert L., Echoes of Duchamp at the MCASD, San Diego Union Tribune, April 11
- Johnson, Ken, Art Review: Phantom Sightings, The New York Times,
- Myers, Holly, Ruben Ochoa: In a construction zone, Los Angeles Times, March 7
- 2009
- Adlmann, Jan Ernst, Santa Fe, Art In America, December
- Momin, Shamim, Ruben Ochoa essay in Vitamin 3-D: New Perspectives in Sculptures and Installation, Phaidon Press
- Art & Space: Ruben Ochoa, BOB International Magazine of Space Design, Issue #062, Fall
- Davis, Kathryn M., Santa Fe, Art Ltd., July
- Cotter, Holland, Ruben Ochoa: Collapsed, the New York Times, July 17
- Fairfield, Douglas, Art In Review, Santa Fe New Mexican Pasatiempo, July 10
- Fischer, Zane, Pssst! Hey, Mom: SITE has an art exhibition that mothers (and others) will love, Santa Fe Reporter, July 8
- Tobin, Richard, Critical Reflections: Ruben Ochoa/ Crooked Under the Weight, THE Magazine, July 2009
- Weideman, Paul, Four Off the Floor, the New Mexican Pasatiempo, June 26
- Exhibitions: Ruben Ochoa, SITE magazine, Summer
- Dault, Julia, Critics Pick: New York, Ruben Ochoa at Peter Blum, Artforum, May
- Galleries-Downtown: Ruben Ochoa, The New Yorker, April 13
- Saltz, Jerry, This Road Goes Somewhere, New York Magazine, April 6
- Von Taube, Annika, Los Angeles, Sleek Magazine, Winter
- 2008
- Place, Vanessa, Phantom Sightings: Art after the Chicano Movement, X-Tra Magazine, Vol. 11, No. 2, Winter
- Chang, Richard, A Broader Biennial, Orange County Register, October 26
- Chang, Richard, California Biennial reaches beyond the Golden State, The Arts Blog, ocregister.com, October 24
- Young, Paul, The Radar Art, Angeleno, October
- Ruiz, Alma, Interview with Ruben Ochoa, From and About Place: Art from Los Angeles, The Center for Contemporary Art, Tel Aviv, September - November
- Kotz, Liz, Phantom Sightings: Art After the Chicano Movement, Modern Painters, September
- Guha, Rohin, Ruben Ochoa @ LAMCA, Blackbook.com, August 7
- Dambrot, Shana, Report: New York City, The Ghost of Jason Rhoades, Art Ltd, July
- Ezrha Jean, LAs Cultural art (r)evolution, Artillery, July/August
- Danto, Arthur C., Unlovable, The Nation, May 26
- Bryan-Wilson, Julia, Review: Phantom Sightings: Art After the Chicano Movement, Art Forum, Summer
- Johnson, Reed, Puerto Vallartas Not Just for Tourists, its for Artists too, Los Angeles Times, June 4
- Guggenheim Fellows of 2008, Art In America, June/July
- Canning, Susan, Whitney Biennial: New York, Art Papers, May
- Machida, Nico, Interview with Ruben Ochoa, ArtSlant, May 19
- Dabkowski, Colin, New at the Knox, The Buffalo News, May 11
- Vikram, Anuradha, The LA Annual, Artillery, May/June
- Gleason, Mat, Beyond Expectations: How Phantom Sightings Defeats Clich, ArtScene, May 1
- Miles, Christopher, LACMA East: Phantom Sightings Chronicles the Rise of Post-Chicanoism, LA Weekly, April 30
- Chang, R, O.C. Museum of Art hires guest curator for biennial, The Arts Blog, ocregister.com, February 11
- Lacavo, Richard, The Simple Life, Time, March 13
- Cohn, Marilyn, The Big Apple: Whitney Biennial, For Your Art, March 13
- Schuker, Lauren A.E., The Fine Art of Less, The Wall Street Journal, March 7
- Dalton, Trinie, 2008 Biennial Exhibition Catalogue, The Whitney Museum of American Art, March
- Dockary, Sean and Hugo Hopping. Social Studies: An Art and Social Engagement, X-TRA Contemporary
- Art Quarterly, Volume 10, Number 3, Spring
- MJ, Susanne Vielmetter Berlin Projects, Transparenz durch Trugbilder, Taz.de, January 16
- Gonzalez, Rita, Howard N. Fox, and Chan A. Noriega, Phantom Sightings: Art After the Chicano Movement LACMA Publications, March
- 2007
- Viva Mexico, (Exhibition Catalogue), Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warszawa
- Paterson, Carrie, Ruben Ochoa: A Recurring Amalgamation, Art Circles, Issue #5, Fall
- Vogel, Carol, Whitney Biennial Stretches to Armory, New York Times, November 16
- Artists Announced for 2008 Whitney Biennial, Artforum.com, November 16
- Campagnola, Sonia, Live from Los Angeles, Flash Art, November/December
- Gray, Emma, L.A. Confidential, artnet, October 12
- Continuing and Recommended: Ruben Ochoas A Recurring Amalgamation at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Art Scene, October
- Mizota, Sharon, Ruben Ochoa: A Recurring Amalgamation at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Artforum.com, September 22
- Gray, Emma, Emma Grays Top 10 Shows in Los Angeles this Month, Daily Magazine, Saatchi Online, September
- Myers, Holly, When nature and urban life conflict, Los Angeles Times, September 14
- Becker, Jack; Slade, George, Multifaceted Lens: Photography and Public Art, Public Art Review, Spring/Summer
- Freeman, Tommy, The Trans-Aestheticization of Daily Life at the Sweeney Art Gallery, Artweek, May
- Allsop, Laura; Alizarin Harvey, Polly; Lawley, Alanna, Consumed, ArtReview, June, p. 42
- Szupinska, Joanna, Ruben Ochoa, Artillery, Volume 1, No. 4, March
- 2006
- Westerbeck, Colin, Photo Synthesis: Fwy Wall Extraction, West Magazine, Los Angeles Times, December 24
- Kim, Clara, Ruben Ochoa: Extracted, Contemporary, Issue 88, p.73
- West, Kevin, The Van Man, WWDscoop, September, p. 60
- Myers, Holly, Freeways connect and divide, Los Angeles Times, September 15, p. E22
- Gray, Emma, L.A. Confidential, Artnet, October 13
- Satorius, Katherine, Ruben Ochoa at LA><ART, Artweek, November, p. 17
- Campagnola, Sonia, Focus Los Angeles: A Survey of Contemporary Los Angeles Art, Flash Art, January/February, page 73
- Finkel, Jori, Recipe for Revolution: Take 11,000 Photos, New York Times, January 29, section 2-32
- Isenberg, Barbara, Otis College of Art and Design: The First 88 Years, Otis: Nine Decades of Art (catalogue), p. 14
- Pollack, Barbara, Happenstance, Time Out New York, Issue 536, January
- 2005
- Gonzalez, Rita, Strangeways Here We Come, Recent Pasts: Art in Southern California from the 90s to Now, published by jrp ringier
- Cotter, Holland, Happenstance, New York Times, December 30, p. B37
- Willis, Holly, State of the Art: A Field Guide from Acken to Zittel, LA Weekly, October 28, p. 52
- Tumlir, Jan, California Biennial, Artforum, February, p. 168
- 2004
- Pincus, Robert L., Turning in to the O.C.: Biennial belly laughs, The San Diego Union-Tribune, November 7
- Knight, Christopher, Biennial arrives, and so does a museum, Los Angeles Times, October 13, p. E1, E7
- Armstrong, Elizabeth and Hofman, Irene, The Big Sweep: Paradox in Paradise, California Biennial (catalogue), Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA, p. 12-21, 92-95
- Cavallo Collins, Gina, Through the Lens Violently, Phoenix New Times, January 15 <http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issue/2004-01-15/art.html/print.html>
- 2002
- Contreras, V. Wade, CLASS C: Ruben Ochoa Rolls Over Artistic Barriers, September <http://beyondmainstream.com/index.php3?inc=arts/artist_ruben_ochoa.php>
Public Collections
- Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
- Hammer Museum, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
- Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
- Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego, CA
- Perez Art Museum, Miami, Florida
- Sweeney Art Gallery, University of California, Riverside, CA
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY