Statement

Artwork by Gabriel Álvarez

Although I adopt painting as the main medium of my work, I also explore other formats within the three-dimensionality. Masks, artist books and small sculptural objects, which like painting, allow me to work around a graphic and symbolic imaginary, which I take to the plane of figuration appropriating certain formal characteristics of pre-Columbian iconography to translate them into my own representations. On the other hand, the grid that is present as a compositional element in many of my pieces, become squares that allow me to develop a rhythmic harmony of a certain geometric pattern, where in each space inhabits a sign. It is not the mimetic representation of the portrayed that I seek, but the representation of concepts. It is through stripped forms and precise figurations that graphic art is shaped as one: representation and abstraction, it is a very simple form, very synthetic but above all, it communicates. The work I present here belongs to the series I made after the pandemic, having contracted covid, I began to make a series that appeared some monsters or ghosts, which I called post covid characters appear in my paintings. These monsters or ghosts symbolize everything that happened to us during the pandemic, the fears, uncertainties, reflections that appeared in that isolation.  The same is exposed for the first time. Both my own studies on color, as well as the material reconfiguration I make for the construction of each piece, allow me to play with the relationship of the images made there. The juxtaposition and superposition of different materials allows me to evade the result as a linear story. The aesthetic potential of each material used: textures, porosities, hardness and depths, add a sensory element to the work, thus emerging -and in turn- the perception of the tactile, where the work goes from being only visual to become a piece that manages to awaken the sensory capacity.

Born in 1962, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

National Drawing Teacher. Lola Mora National School. Buenos Aires, Argentina (1979), Professor of Painting. ENBA Prilidiano Pueyrredón. Buenos Aires, Argentina (1983); Licentiate in Fine Arts, Painting Section, Ministry of Education and Science. Madrid, Spain (1988).
Among his solo exhibitions include: (The avatars in painting) Aldo de Sousa Gallery. Buenos Aires, Argentina (2013); (Divinos 80) Museum of Modern Art. Buenos Aires, Argentina (1993); Silencios. Recoleta Cultural Center. Buenos Aires, Argentina (1991)
Among the most outstanding awards and mentions are Mention in the Braque Prize awarded by the Cultural Office of the French Embassy. Argentina (1991); Mention of the Jury in Painting, at the 50th Salón Municipal Manuel Belgrano. Buenos Aires, Argentina (2006); 1st Acquisition Prize. National Salon of Painting. Museum of Visual Arts, Concordia Entre Rios, Argentina (2010).
Between 2006 and 2016 I was represented by Aldo de Sousa Gallery (Buenos Aires, Argentina).
In 1996 until 2001, I founded and directed the Art Gallery “Artenativo”, in Bs As. Argentina
He has dedicated himself to teaching in high school and university education, as well as being a career researcher at the National University of the Arts (UNA), held management positions in schools, participated as a juror in various visual arts salons, in university graduation theses.
His works have been acquired by institutional and private collections in Argentina and Colombia, Spain, Italy, USA and Germany.
Municipal Museum of Visual Arts Concordia Entre Ríos Argentina.
Pompeo Boggio Museum of Plastic Arts Chivilcoy Pcia.
Fine Arts Museum Félix de Amador Lujan Pcia. Bs As.
Andrea Walker Foundation Bogota Colombia
Venancio Blanco Foundation Salamanca Spain
Private Collection Antonio Prats Mari Ibiza Ibiza Spain
Private Collection Lydia Scalzi Latina Italy
Private Collection Architect Peter Trint Berlin Germany
Private Collection Casa Cultura de las Américas Andrés Bardón Houston TX USA
2022 - Group show Triennial of Latin American Art in New York - Argentine Consulate in New York
2021 - Group show. Painting - The matter application and possibilities International Artistic Exchange Argentina China - Tsinghua University - China
2019 - Group Exhibition “Contemporary Masks”. Masks. Roverano Museum, Municipality of Quilmes, Province of Buenos Aires.
2018 - Group exhibition. Masks. Masks. Museum of Sculpture L. Perllotti CABA
2018- Gabriel Alvarez - Gustavo Boggia. Paintings. Pasaje 865 Foundation CABA
2018 - Gabriel Alvarez. Time of origin. Paintings and objects.
Curator Lic. Nora Longo Universidad del Salvador CABA
2017 - Gabriel Alvarez and Mónica Caputto. The Side of the Skin. Paintings. Curator Lic. Nora Longo Museo de Bellas Artes Pompeo Boggio Chivilcoy Pcia Bs As.
2016 - Gabriel Alvarez and others. Masks. Exhibition of Masks. Museum of Contemporary Art Raúl Lozza Alberti Pcia Bs As.