Alejandro Diaz-Ayala is a Mexican Postwar & Contemporary artist who was born in 1984. His work has evolved from formal representation and portraiture to a broader, freer, less restrained approach to painting. Diaz-Ayala experiments much more with technique and composition, allowing a collision of elements to take place. Pop and iconic imagery may hover over a trace of an old European master painting, sometimes beautifully, sometimes with uncomfortable tension.
Alejandro Diaz-Ayala doesn’t care to elaborate on the intention behind his work, or his aesthetic choices. This is not out of disrespect to his audience, but out of an understanding that the viewer brings their interpretation to Diaz-Ayala’s work. His paintings suggest a possible narrative but are not definitive statements about anything in particular. A little bit of everything is there, from social justice and politics to the simple appreciation of the color blue, or the wit of Porky Pig. The viewer takes it from there.
Alejandro Diaz-Ayala’s process is experimental and there is little to no planning for each canvas. The artist has a general idea of what he wants to paint, but the process determines the final piece. He attempts to mix ideas and to create aesthetic contrasts on the same piece of canvas, and sometimes it’s a fight; the layering of paint, overpainting, wrestling with ideas, editing, and reworking an element until it’s right.
In the end, Alejandro Diaz-Ayala tries to create work that is fun and exciting to himself. His work has been featured in several exhibitions at key galleries and museums, including the Kirk Hopper Fine Art.
Mexican, b. 1984
