Path to Home: Interview with Venezuelan Painter Alexandra Alvarez

From the Carribean coast to New York City, Venezuelan painter Alexandra Alvarez chronicles her physical and spiritual journeys with watercolors and acrylics. She grapples with the realities of a “new home”, both in terms of location and mentality, by examining her role as an immigrant and a single mother coping with shifting cultural identities and newfound feminine strengths. Through her surrealist portraits, tribal imageries and repetitive patterns, she marries changes in her external environment with those occurring simultaneously internally. We caught up with the talented artist to talk about her artistic prompts, purpose and path.

artil: Alex, tell us about yourself! When did you start creating and what drives you to create?

Alexandra Alvarez: “I started creating as a child. I had pencil-drawn magazines with fashion illustrations in which my brother helped me design the covers. When I finished school, my destiny was already clear to me so I studied illustration. I have not stopped creating since then, although along the way I have had to work as a graphic designer to support myself. What drives me to create is the need to express what I see and feel. Sometimes it can be a feeling of sadness and darkness, other times it can be a beautiful image in my imagination that must be shared with the world.”

Infinity Circle of Cruelty by Alexandra Alvarez

artil: Where do you currently live and where do you call home?

AA: “I currently live in Jersey City, NJ., USA, which is part of the New York City metropolitan area. It is what I call ‘my new home’. But my heart will always call my Venezuelan Caribbean ‘home’. In the end, home is where you are physically living your life.”

artil: What prompted you to start a new life in the United States?

AA: “Initially, what brought me to New York City was a desire to experience the world through art in one of the most multicultural cities on the planet, as well as the desire to learn English in order to reach an international level of communication. I did not plan to stay for long, but life played one on me: I ended up getting married, having a daughter, and starting a new life here. Facing immigration was not easy, I had to reinvent myself every moment to adapt to my new reality. Now I understand that this was my destiny-- that it was no longer worth returning to my country and that the only way to live through my art was to be here.”

artil: Americans, with their individualistic leanings and obsession of pop culture, contrast brightly with Venezuelan’s community-oriented nature and pride in their blended indigenous and Spanish culture. How has this shift affected your art?

AA: “It has affected it in a positive way. It has influenced it and made it evolve. I will never do pop art simply to adapt to the market, but I can learn more about it and integrate it into my style so that the message somehow reaches the North American public. By the way, we Venezuelans have lost much of our own culture. The current exodus has helped us reconnect with our Caribbean roots through the influence of a ‘new home’ environment. Thus, a new era of contemporary Venezuelan art is being created abroad. This last statement inspired me last year for a project that I am developing with Venezuelan artists for 2021. Stay tuned!”

El Catrino, La Catrina & Catrin by Alexandra Alvarez

artil: You have an adorable daughter that inspires many of your paintings! Being a single mother and nourishing an artistic practice involve a similar show of patience, flexibility and strength. How do you balance the two priorities and how has your art changed as a result?

AA: “It has not been easy, but little by little, I have been balancing it. Currently, I have the support of my mother, who was the missing pillar on the road to success in my art career. I involve my daughter a lot in my artistic routine so everything is more bearable. Since she was born, she has been my driving force and the muse of my works; though I worry about her future since the arrival of this pandemic. My art has evolved under the light that children transmit, as they have become an important subject in the development of my current work. Overall, my daughter has helped me find my purpose in art.”

artil: Your “Mental Labyrinth” series mixes bold colors, repetitive shapes and imagery—the energy of the Caribbean practically leaps from the frame! What combination of internal and external environment were you trying to convey?

AA: “During the creation of this series, I was in a moment of depression and psychological chaos. I was going through very toxic situations which I was able to cope with thanks to my creativity. With this series, I sought to heal and to find focus again. At that time, I remember reading that drawing lines was a form of therapy. So I began to develop this new style, which I initially started practicing in my school notebooks during my adolescence. These repetitive patterns connected me, in turn, to the indigenous art of Latin America. Healing pain and reconnecting with my tribal roots-- ’My Mental Labyrinth’ was born.”

They can try to cut our wings off & They can try to take our dreams by Alexandra Alvarez

artil: Tell us about your open studio! Why did you decide to take this step and what do you hope to accomplish?

AA: “The Open Studio is restricted by the current Covid situation, but it comes with everything, virtually. The decision to have an art studio is so that I can finally formalize my commitment to my artistic career and practice it in the most professional way possible. Here I have my operational base, where ideas explode and take shape. Though my ideas can be born anywhere, I now have a place to express them without limitations.“

artil: How do you see your art evolving in the future?

AA: “This is a deep question. I am always uncomfortable projecting into the future. Currently, I feel that the art I do is evolving, as it’s defining its own voice. I see it consolidating fruitfully, encompassing all the creative communication spaces possible, online and offline, such as stories, graphic books, video art, etc. I see it evolving more as a weapon of struggle and protest; I see it in environmental and social activism, empowering women and protesting against child abuse and maltreatment; I see it encompassing the world of digital art, conquering world spaces through developing technologies; ultimately, I see it as a force of inspiration and empowerment. The purpose of my art is no longer personal; now I am just a channel and I feel it speaking for itself--finally, I see the message and its path.”

You can see more of Alexandra’s art on Instagram @alexillustra and on her website alexandralvarez.com