Jack Alvarez
Jack Alvarez, Red Day, Acrylic/Mixed Media, 16"x20", 2009
Artist Statement:
As a third generation Mexican American I feel a strong tie to my ancestral past, but moreimportantly I also realize a sense of opportunity and responsibility to carry on as an artist in the community. All artists possess the capability to contribute their personal insights and perspectives to the arts, along with the responsibility to cultivate thought and passion, a valuable community service as well.
In recent times, I have traveled into the Yucatan of Mexico where a passion to discover the beautiful past has given my art new life and purpose. This area of central America abounds with a multitude of artistic and cultural treasures. Most of the local Indigenous people and the Mestizos ( Mexican people; half Spanish and half Indian ), continue to carry out daily life as did their ancestors hundreds of years before the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors.Many of these people still maintain a traditional way of life that utilizing bright, colorful handwoven apparel, basketry, pottery, murals, fine art, various sculptured religious figurines, tools and utensils reminiscent to their ancient past.
Somewhere between the symbolic-primitive and the sub-conscious lies a surreal landscape, the aftermath of the Spanish conquest, a cultural conquest of the Indian ancestors, and theirway of life, but not I feel, a conquest of their spiritual ways. In the ancestral spirit world, live thevoices, voices that carry the secrets of a time when people viewed the world with many different senses and personal levels. Here is where I dwell as an artist. Most of my artwork possesses a common theme that deals with a perspective on the constant natural forces of life and death. Maya prophets wrote “on that day”, the leaves would scatter throughout the forest, and life as they knew it would never be the same. I feel that we, modern day mestizo artists, the decedents, “the leaves” carry the ancestral bloodlines of our past, and that connection to the past lives within our art.
Many ancient civilizations lived and dealt with life and death on a daily basis. With the use of ceremony and rituals they improved their lives and existed in harmony with the knowledge and beauty that art possesses. I hope to carry on the timeless craft of creating art that might provoke thought and a small window into our past and towards our future. Art has that quality.
I first started showing publicly in the early 1970’s. Over the years my art has changed with time. As my priorities have changed with my maturity so has my subject matter and artistic sense of purpose.
Most of my works are produced with acrylic paints, charcoal, conte crayon, cloth, and paper collages on 140 to 300 lb. acid free paper and canvas and board All the materials I use are archival.
Jack Alvarez
Birth Date: August 13, 1952
Birth Place:Woodland, California
School: American River College, Sacramento, California
Selected Exhibition History:
*One person exhibition ** Two person exhibition
• Pacific Western Traders, Sutter Street Show, 1972
• Pacific Western Traders, Folsom Calif. Annual Group Show, 1973
• Matrix Gallery, Group Show Sacramento, 1997
• Phoenix Group Show (SMAC), Sacramento, 1998
• Washington Neighborhood Center, Sacramento, 1998*
• Calif. State University, Sacramento, 1998
• N. California Assoc. Fine Arts Show, Sacramento, 1998 (Third Place Overall)
• Encantada Gallery of Fine Art, San Francisco, 1999 **
• Excentrique Gallery, Group Show Sacramento, 1998
• Luna’s Cafe, Sacramento, 1998-99
• La Galeria Posada, Sacramento, 1999 (with two lecture-tours)
• D. Q. U. University ( Naive American College), Davis CA 1999
• Ecantada Gallery of Fine Arts, San Francisco, 1999*
• Michael Himovitz Gallery, Sacramento, Sept.1999 (with lecture) **
• Calif. State Capitol, Sacto., Ca. Office of State Senator Deborah Ortiz Nov.’99 *
• Calif. State University, Group Show Sacramento, 1999
• Plaza De La Raza, Los Angeles, Ca.
• State Capitol Members Lounge, Capitol Gallery, 2000 jury/selected (1 year group show)
• University of California at Davis, June, 2000
• Attorney General’s Office, Sacto., Calif.2000
• KVIE Art Auction, 2000, (First Place Water division)
• Mexican Heritage Plaza, San Jose Ca., 2000
• Plaza De La Raza, Los Angeles, Ca.2000 (benefit fund raiser show)
• Mexican Heritage Center, Stockton Ca., 2000
• Richmond Center for the Arts, Richmond, Calif. Group Show 2000
• Michael Himovitz Gallery, Miniature Show Nov.2000
• The Art Foundry, Sacramento, Calif. Group Show 2000
• University of Idaho, Boise, Chicano,César A. Martinez Invitational, conference, exhibition.
March, 2001 (Juried)
• Barton Gallery, Sacramento, Second Annual 12 Show, Feb., 2001
• KVIE Art Auction, 2000, (Special Artist Collection Series) Juried Artists interview/segments
• Crocker Museum, Sacramento, May, 2002, ( Invitational Show/Auction )
• Center for Contemporary Arts, June, 2001
• Self Help Graphics, Los Angeles, Artist in residence Prints series, Aug., 2001
• Nuervo Altares, Invitational six person dia de los muertos show, Crocker Museum, Oct, 2002
• California Attorney General’s Office, Group Show, Sacto., Calif. 2001
• Richmond Center for the Arts, Richmond, Ca., 2002
• Artist Contemporary Gallery, Two Person Show, Sacramento Ca. 2002
• La Galeria Posada, ”Between Worlds”, One Person Show Sacramento, Ca Nov.2001
• Art Foundry, One Person Show Sacramento, Ca March 2002
• 750 Gallery Group Show Sacramento, Ca May 2002
• Center for Contemporary Arts, ”Portrait of my Father”, 2002
• Cow Horse Gallery, Sacramento, Ca “Phobias”, 2002
• Galeria Posada, Group Show Oct., 2002
• Sierra Collage, Day of the Dead, Invitational Six person Juried Show Oct. 2002
Exhibition History: cont.
• Crocker-Kingsley 73rd California Artists Juried Exhibition, 2002, Crocker Art Museum, Sacto, CA
• Center for Contemporary Art, Nov.2002
• Julie Baker Fine Art gallery, Baker’s Dozen Group Show Grass Valley, Ca, Nov.2002
• Santa Fe Art Fair, juried, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Aug.2003
• Hansel Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2003
• Exploding Head Gallery, August 2003 Two Person Show
• Julie Baker Fine Art, Revolve, group show, Sept.2003
• Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles, CA one person show Hispanic Magazine Event, Aug.2004
• Julie Baker Fine Art Gallery, two person show, “Story Tellers”, Jan, 2004
• Plaza De La Raza, Los Angeles, Ca.2004 (benefit fund raiser show)
• “Corazones y Almas”, dia de los muertos, Galeria Posada, I curated this show, 2004
• Blue Paintings, collaboration work with Stan Padilla, Arts Gallery, Auburn CA, 2005
• Lewis Greenwald Collection Exhibition, Barton Gallery, 2005
• Downtown Art Gallery Exhibition, representing SelfHelp Graphics & Art, Los Angeles CA 2005
• Exploding Head Gallery, August 2005 “Bicycles”Group Show
• Victoria Price Gallery, Santa Fe New Mexico, September 2007 “Energy Transfers Show
• Pacific Western Traders, Folsom CA, April 2008 One Person Show
• Howard/Skinner Gallery, Sacto. CA, June 2009 Two Person Show
Gallery Affiliations:
Julie Baker Fine Arts, Grass Valley CA (Represented by)
Michael Himovitz Gallery, Sacramento (member artist)
Member of Matrix Gallery (past member)
Pacific Western Traders, Folsom
Ecantada Gallery of Fine Arts, San Francisco (past artist/member)
La Galeria Posada, Sacramento
SelfHelp Graphics, Los Angeles
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento
Book/Collection/Print/Lectures/Curations/Awards/Inclusions:
• Hecho en CalifasShow,January 2000,Latin Artists Network Exhibition.
31 selected Latin and Indian artists currently residing in California
•Contemporary Chicano/Chicana Artists BookBilingual Press,
University of Arizona Associated with Hispanic Research Center, University of Arizona, (Juried)
• Hispanic Magazine,Hispanic Heritage Poster & Article Image, selected for
commissioned artwork
• ArtWeek Magazine, Article, Exploding Head Gallery, August/September, 2003 Issue
• Curated Exhibition:
“Corazones y Almas”,dia de los muertos,Galeria Posada,2004
43 artists from, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San francisco, San Diego and Texas
• Lectures/Workshops/Panel Discussion:
• Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission Arts in Public places, Selected Juror/Panelist , 2001
• Identity in Art,Panelist Diversity in the Arts Lecture/ Discussion. Selected panel of five artists,
Croaker Art Museum April, 2005
• Lecture/slide Show, Crocker Art Museum, Oct., 2006
• Lecture/Student Workshop; Consumes River College, Aug. 2007
• KVIE PBS Art Auction,2003,“Best of Show”
• 73rd Crocker-Kingsley Exhibition,Crocker Art Museum,Juried throughout State of Calif., 2002
• KVIE PBS Art Auction,2000,“First Place”
Lectures/Workshops/Panel Discussion: cont.
• Art Masters Program,Summer youth, four day workshop/ lecture, painting workshop;
“Indigenous Cultural Icons”, June, 2005
• Art Masters Program,Summer youth four day workshop/ lecture, painting workshop;
“Indigenous Cultural Icons”, August, 2003
• Art Masters Program,Summer youth four day workshop/ lecture, painting workshop;
“Abstract Still Life”, August, 2001
• Self Help Graphics,Los Angeles,Artist in Residence Prints Series
Archives/Permanent Collections include:
• Permanent Collection: of Crocker Art Museum
• Mexican fine Arts Center Museum, Chicago
• UC Santa Barbara Archives
• Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Prints, Drawing Collection
• Laguna Art Museum/Orange County Museum of Art permanent collection
• Huntington Museum, UT Austin
• Galeria Sin Frontiers, Austin Texas
• SHG Traveling Exhibition Print Program-slide documentation
Private Collectors also include:
• Joyce Raley Teel • Dr. Nick Guttierez • Dr. Juan Moreno • California Senator Deborah Ortiz • Various private collectors throughout USA as represented Julie Baker Fine Art Gallery, Grass Valley California
