Lisa Alvarado (born 1982) is an American visual artist and harmonium player. [1] [2]
Alvarado is known for her free-hanging abstract paintings. [3] Her works operate as stage sets and artworks simultaneously, and engage with abstraction beyond the parameters of western art history. [4] Alvarado's paintings accompany musical performances as mobile setting for the band Natural Information Society, for which she plays harmonium. [5]
Alvarado was born in San Antonio, Texas to a Mexican American family. [6] [7] She studied at San Antonio College and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. [7] Alvarado joined the Natural Information Society in 2010. [8] [9]
Alvarado's practice bridges visual art and sound to create works that explore the possibilities and nuances of abstraction. [4] [10]
She began making her free-hanging works in 2010, as portable sets for the band Natural Information Society, an experimental ensemble of traditional and electronic instruments. [11] Her two-sided works float between categories—they are at once paintings, screens and tapestries that create airy partitions, delineating pathways, evoking both theatrical and ceremonial uses. [11] [12] [13]
Alvarado's hand-painted compositions consist of sequences that suggest foundational real-world materials: bricks, religious icons, single-celled organisms, the organic systems covering the natural information of life—things of which history and culture are formed. [12] [14]
Alvarado's works recall a number of traditions, among them Mexican textiles and European and American Modernist painting, however they build on those sources to become something of their own. [10] Hybridity and in-betweenness are central to Alvarado's practice. [10] Her work calls attention to the idea of mestizaje, which refers to the cultural and ethnic mixing in Mexican history, and is expanded to mean a mixing of ideas and materials as a way to resist or bridge cultural and conceptual divides. [15]
Alvarado's work is included in the Whitney Biennial 2022: Quiet as It's Kept, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. [1]
She has also exhibited her work at the Bergen Kunsthall, Norway; Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Bridget Donahue, New York; The Modern Institute, Glasgow; KMAC Museum, Louisville. [16] [17]
Selected performances include Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago; Big Ears Music Festival, Knoxville; Rewire Festival, Netherlands; Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia; Japan Society, New York; The Common Guild, Glasgow; Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Portugal. [18] [19]
Alvarado is represented by Bridget Donahue in New York. [20]
with Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society
Lisa Alvarado (born 1982) is an American visual artist and harmonium player. [1] [2]
Alvarado is known for her free-hanging abstract paintings. [3] Her works operate as stage sets and artworks simultaneously, and engage with abstraction beyond the parameters of western art history. [4] Alvarado's paintings accompany musical performances as mobile setting for the band Natural Information Society, for which she plays harmonium. [5]
Alvarado was born in San Antonio, Texas to a Mexican American family. [6] [7] She studied at San Antonio College and The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. [7] Alvarado joined the Natural Information Society in 2010. [8] [9]
Alvarado's practice bridges visual art and sound to create works that explore the possibilities and nuances of abstraction. [4] [10]
She began making her free-hanging works in 2010, as portable sets for the band Natural Information Society, an experimental ensemble of traditional and electronic instruments. [11] Her two-sided works float between categories—they are at once paintings, screens and tapestries that create airy partitions, delineating pathways, evoking both theatrical and ceremonial uses. [11] [12] [13]
Alvarado's hand-painted compositions consist of sequences that suggest foundational real-world materials: bricks, religious icons, single-celled organisms, the organic systems covering the natural information of life—things of which history and culture are formed. [12] [14]
Alvarado's works recall a number of traditions, among them Mexican textiles and European and American Modernist painting, however they build on those sources to become something of their own. [10] Hybridity and in-betweenness are central to Alvarado's practice. [10] Her work calls attention to the idea of mestizaje, which refers to the cultural and ethnic mixing in Mexican history, and is expanded to mean a mixing of ideas and materials as a way to resist or bridge cultural and conceptual divides. [15]
Alvarado's work is included in the Whitney Biennial 2022: Quiet as It's Kept, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. [1]
She has also exhibited her work at the Bergen Kunsthall, Norway; Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Bridget Donahue, New York; The Modern Institute, Glasgow; KMAC Museum, Louisville. [16] [17]
Selected performances include Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago; Big Ears Music Festival, Knoxville; Rewire Festival, Netherlands; Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia; Japan Society, New York; The Common Guild, Glasgow; Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, Portugal. [18] [19]
Alvarado is represented by Bridget Donahue in New York. [20]
with Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society