Arts Council for Long Beach Professional Artist Fellowship 2024-2025
This series of cultural portraits illuminates the beauty of diversity and women within Stephanie Rozzo’s home city of Long Beach, California. Weaving together her passion for spreading the importance and beauty of diversity within the natural world and the human world.
Supported in part by the City of Long Beach and Percent for the Arts.
"Ethereal Queen"
This painting uses nature to symbolize a blend of Black and California culture. These elements represent beauty, power, transformation and strength emerging from the darkness of oppression and hardship. Golden lionesses that resemble jewelry are devoted to safeguarding their queen as they adorn her arm like protective armor. They symbolize radiance, strength and unity. The Long Beach California dusk and dawn light throughout the painting highlights the enduring presence and timeless strength of Black women. See below for more details.
Oil on Wood Panel, 2025
30” X 24”
"REVELATE", Billie Jean King Library Group show, 2025-2026.
"Unbreakable Spirit"
This painting uses nature to symbolize a blend of Cambodian and California culture. The symbols represent the strength, resilience, transformation and belonging of female Cambodian refugees who migrated to Long Beach to find a new home and happiness after hardship. The painting’s color palette reflects the Cambodian flag, bringing all the elements together as a tribute to community, hope, and cultural pride in Long Beach. Soft pink highlights add a touch of femininity, celebrating the strength and beauty of Cambodian women. See below for more details.
Acrylic on Wood Panel, 2025
24” X 30”
"REVELATE", Billie Jean King Library Group show, 2025-2026.
"Entwined in Strength"
"Entwined in Strength" is Stephanie's first oil painting. This served as a study for “Ethereal Queen” and “Unbreakable Spirit”. It allowed Stephanie to trouble shoot through the oil painting process. It also let her practice blending the diversity of native Southern CA nature with human diversity while also highlighting feminine beauty into a cohesive composition. See below for more details.
Oil on Canvas, 2025
16” X 20”
"REVELATE", Billie Jean King Library Group show, 2025-2026.
More about the group show, “REVELATE”:
"REVELATE" features work by ten local Long Beach artists exploring the power of art to reveal. Their work illuminates hidden narratives, marginalized identities, and interior worlds; and brings focus to things that often pass unseen or unnoticed. Whether drawing attention to the quiet details of everyday life or boldly amplifying underrepresented voices, these artists invite us to bear witness to a different experience of the world and recognize the things we have ignored or taken for granted — revealing truths both personal and collective. The exhibition is a call to pay closer attention to what is hidden in plain sight, what has been forgotten, and what is waiting to be seen.
Detailed descriptions of each piece in this series:
“Ethereal Queen”
This painting celebrates Long Beach’s Black diversity by portraying a queen adorned with a lotus crown, a flower native to Africa’s Nile Valley. The lotus, which rises from muddy waters to bloom in purity and strength, mirrors the journey Black women have taken. Emerging from the darkness of oppression and hardship to embody beauty, power, and divine purpose.
The golden lionesses in the artwork symbolizes radiance, strength, and unity. Lionesses represent protection, leadership, motherhood, and survival, reflecting the powerful sisterhood and the fearless protection that Black women provide to their families and communities. Metallic gold in color to resemble jewelry, the lionesses adorn her arm like protective armor. They are poised, watchful, powerful, and devoted to safeguarding the woman who is their queen.
Female Queen butterflies, native to Southern California, grace the scene, signifying transformation and the reclamation of beauty within Black identity.
The interplay of Long Beach California dusk and dawn light throughout the painting highlights the enduring presence and timeless strength of Black women.
Overall, the piece emphasizes the deep connection between humanity and nature, celebrating the spirit and legacy of Black women.
“Unbreakable Spirit”
This painting celebrates women of Cambodian descent in Long Beach by blending Cambodian and Californian cultural symbols to show resilience, transformation, and belonging. At the center, a thoughtful woman is surrounded by colorful koi fish, which represent resilience. California sycamore flowers hang from her golden poppy headdress, symbolizing deep roots and the ability to survive and adapt in a new place. Traditional Khmer patterns are included to honor Cambodian heritage.
The Koi and clouds also represent the female spirits of the clouds and water that danced for the gods and became and enduring symbol of the Cambodian nation’s unbreakable spirit. Golden California poppies are arranged to resemble the Makuṭa headdress from the Cambodian Apsara dance, paying tribute to the unbreakable spirit and beauty of Cambodian culture. These poppies, which grow even in tough conditions, stand for resilience and the energy of youth, reflecting the Cambodian community’s strength in Long Beach.
Monarch butterflies float through the sky, symbolizing migration and the changes faced by refugees. A western bluebird sits nearby, representing peace, the search for home, and singing about happiness after hardship.
The painting uses blue, red, and white to reflect the Cambodian flag, bringing all the elements together as a tribute to community, hope, and cultural pride in Long Beach. Soft pink highlights add a touch of femininity, celebrating the strength and beauty of Cambodian women.
The flowers and animals in the painting show how people are connected to nature, drawing support and identity from the world around them.
“Entwined in Strength”
In this evocative painting, a woman is gently entwined in the vines of a Plummer’s Mariposa Lily. She stands poised, yet her expression reveals a quiet weariness. The Mariposa Lily, known as a fire follower, thrives after wildfires—its bulbs enduring the flames and blooming abundantly in the renewed earth. This resilient flower embodies feminine beauty, strength, and the ability to flourish through adversity. The winding vines symbolize the many roles and responsibilities that pull a woman in different directions throughout her life.
Perched on her shoulder is a female Least Bell’s Vireo, an endangered bird native to California. The bird softly whispers encouragement, highlighting both the fragility of the Southern California ecosystem and the importance of support. Resting on her face is a Giant Western Swallowtail butterfly, representing her evolving identity as she moves through various stages of life. The vibrant green background suggests renewal, growth, and the healing power of nature. Both the bird and butterfly are female, emphasizing the strength found in feminine community and the natural world.
This artwork invites viewers to reflect on the duality of beauty and struggle. It captures a woman’s journey through societal expectations, exploring themes of conflict, resilience, and transformation. Each element encourages contemplation of the intricate relationship between nature and the multifaceted experience of womanhood—balancing personal growth with the demands of the world.
