Jose Alvarez (D.O.P.A.): 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘒𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 opens Saturday, January 2nd at the @nortonmuseumofart! The exhibition showcases a moving selection of nearly 30 ink portraits created by Venezuelan, South Florida-based artist Jose Alvarez during his time in Miami’s Krome immigration detention center in 2011. The artist, who was arrested for immigration violations after his visa expired, completed a series of portraits of fellow detainees while fighting for his freedom. The subjects’ personal histories will be presented alongside their portraits. At the time of Alvarez’s detention in 2011, his large-scale, site-specific installation 𝘝𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 was on view at the Norton as part of 𝘈𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 (April 2 – July 17, 2011), a major group exhibition. @josealvarezdopa’s fascination with the pre-modern and the mythic is reflected in his use of organic, “non-ordinary” materials and his taste for elaborate, epic imagery. His acrylics and watercolors are strewn with porcupine quills, feathers, crystals and shimmering mica. Mixed-media fantasies offer up a densely packed cosmic biology. Alvarez’s works are visionary maximalist masterpieces: super-saturated Miró-esque dreamscapes that posit unsettling questions about the nature of visual reality and the interaction of art and consciousness. Save the date: Alvarez’s upcoming solo exhibition opens on January 23rd at GAVLAK Palm Beach! Jose Alvarez D.O.P.A. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘐𝘐𝘐, 2014 Acrylic, ink, colored pencil, feathers, quills, and collage on canvas on dibond 44 x 67.5 inches (111.8 x 171.5 cm) ___ #theencounter #josealvarezdopa #josealvarez #contemporaryartwork #contemporarypainting #contemporaryartist #visualart #krome #kromedrawings #alteredstates #nortonmuseum #nortonmuseumofart #norton #drawing #portraits #portraiture #miro #joanmiro #mixedmedia #maximalism #mythic #subconscious #unconsciousart #contemporarycollage #vibratingstrandsofenergy #museumexhibition #museuminstallation #palmbeachart #palmbeach #kromedetentioncenter (at Norton Museum of Art) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJZkxmIFSgU/?igshid=152lcklpu2lxk
