Alex Zapata

My work aims to preserve Chicano art as a genre. I journal the short-lived highs and lows of youth. Whether my own or someone else’s. Kissing, laughing, dancing, crying, fighting – such moments can last forever as references to a time before, allowing us to trace and compare our habits and emotions with our predecessors. My background in Graphic Design has led me to create simple illustrative portraits using a vast array of materials such as graphite, ink, acrylic, and found objects, to name a few. These portraits use dramatic, expressive colors as a conduit for personal narratives. I am a tireless people watcher. I am fascinated by both our diversity and fundamental sameness. I aim to produce more than a mirror of a physical likeness – to transcend form and reveal the subject’s spirit and personality.  My predecessors are the inspiration for my work. Unlike them, I use photoshop to sketch out a stage by dragging and dropping my characters into place to set the scene. I incorporate expressive figurative gestures and symbolism, aiming to keep the message and meaning of my artworks ambiguous and unique to each viewer. Doing this allows me to explore deeply personal narratives that simultaneously suggest universal political and social issues. I believe we all possess tools (talents), and what we can make with these tools, just like with simple shapes, is incredibly complex, moving, and full of potential.