SURVIVAL MODE | SUFRIR ES EL DESTINO

SURVIVAL MODE: SUFRIR ES EL DESTINO

ARTISTS’ RECEPTION: October 11, 7–9 PM

EXHIBITION: October 11 – November 8, 2025

A group show by Eduardo Soto, Abraham Garcia, and Cesar Massturd

For this show, These Days invited three young, Los Angeles–bred artist friends to exhibit together. The title, Survival Mode: Sufrir Es El Destino, seems sadly fitting for these times. When we asked Abe Garcia about it, he said, “I made a piece titled Survival Mode, and it was about how some peers and I live—trying our hardest, working hard, hustling, supporting others, just to be consumed and eaten up by capitalism and social criticism. Living in such an expensive city, it seems like no matter how hard you hustle (work) or how much you accomplish, the city will eat you alive.”

Regarding the subtitle, Cesar Massturd told us, “I was watching a telenovela called Rosa de Guadalupe with my mom. An older character was trying to help a young sex worker get out of the business and at one point yelled ‘Sufrir no es destino’ at her. I started thinking, to escape suffering in this life is impossible, and it’s a part of everyone’s life, no matter who you are—from lonely homeless people to the richest kings or world leaders—we all have suffering along our paths in life that we must overcome to survive. Then I started to think about all the suffering I’ve been through. It was really hard to reflect on tough events in my life, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that without that suffering, I wouldn’t me. The same goes for my mom, my dad, and probably everyone else. So I flipped it on its head and started yelling, “SUFRIR ES EL DESTINO! as I ran around the house, making fun of characters on the show, just as I always do. NO ONE GETS OUT WITHOUT SCARS!” 

Ardo adds, “The phrase embodies the acceptance of my own position within the broken system. Because we live in a world so full of wickedness, we are able to feel real gratitude. We’re in this constant state of needing to survive; existing can never be separated from the experience of hurting. Hurt is the reference point for nearly every experience. By recognizing that we can not only feel connection to our surroundings but also reclaim a certain power in our lives.” 

While this may all sound like a heavy downer, the exhibition is a celebration of resilience and a fighting, never-say-die determination. Although they share similar backgrounds, culture, and interests, their artistic styles are distinctly unique. From Massturd’s intricate black-and-white ink drawings and reworked posters to Garcia’s colorful screen printing, airbrush, and acrylic typography, and Soto’s conceptual canvases with occult influences and messages of anger rooted in love, there is a cohesion of spirit born out of DIY punk ethos, community, family, and a rebellious dissatisfaction with the status quo.