TUNE INTO OUR LIVE INSTAGRAM STORY
SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 11 AM -11:30 AM - MST

@moderwestfineart
Modern West is thrilled to be hosting an artist discussion and Q&A on Saturday, April 18, 11:00 am-11:30 am MST live on our Instagram feed @modernwestfineart, please join us!

“My work communicates plainly and depicts the experience of being brown in white spaces while emphasizing how people live their heritage. Having grown up a mixed-race descendent of Mexican migrant workers has given me a unique vantage point from which to explore themes of race and ethnic identity.

Borrowing techniques of abstraction from neo-expressionists, my work aims to evoke an emotional response while commenting on our wildly complex sociopolitical present. As a self-taught artist, I create work without the theoretical constraints and critical expectations of the academy.

My work is raw, quick and immediate. I mainly create larger-scale paintings. I find that large, confrontational paintings force the viewer to experience the piece instead of simply viewing it. I also sculpt using everyday materials from my day job in construction. I like to juxtapose the clean white walls of the gallery against the rough-hewn, everyday materials of the worker. While materials like drop cloths, drywall mud, concrete, and lumber aren’t archival-quality, I am interested in how these materials will enact the inescapable slow decay of blue-collar bodies.

Common motifs within my work include brown bodies, border walls, Mexican pottery, symbols of consumerism, cops, and guns. My recurring use of corporate logos points to everyday classism and systemic racism. In marginalized communities, ubiquitous symbols of wealth like the Nike logo symbolize the myth of the American dream. Gas station logos represent the places where many tired, blue-collar workers in my neighborhood feed their families due to lack of time and money.

My work is for tired working people.” —ANDREW ALBA