 This end of year I put to good use my new studio and created one more triptych on bike rides, the last one of the year: My Landmark Bike Ride. Those three places have been very important during my life in the Bronx and have been turning points in my life. I am not usually interested in painting buildings, but those three are so special I wanted to try. I wanted to take you on my favorite bike ride, from Yankee Stadium, stopping by the NYC Botanical Gardens and finishing at Poe Park, where the Poe Cottage hosts the cutest museum in town. I hope this new year treats us a little better and that everyone is safe and healthy during the next 365 days, at least! I leave you a timelapse from the paintings. Hugs and Love, Laura JUSTICE Curated by Juanita Lanzo Exhibition on view from October 26 through December 12, 2020 Bronx River Art Center (BRAC), is pleased to announce this Fall’s exhibition JUSTICE in which four artists will activate the windows and gallery space at BRAC to create artworks that document, illustrate, converse and capture our shared humanity, pain, and joy, daily life struggles, and resilience. The works in the exhibition will be developed by ongoing public interactions by the artists in everyday or regular encounters with Bronx residents, visitors, and students at BRAC. Participating artists Laura Alvarez, Rejin Leys, Tijay Mohammed, and Tammy Wofsey will create work in the space that will be installed on the windows and other spaces at BRAC, in a wide array of media (from paintings, drawings, and mixed-media installations that will be seen by West Farm Square/East Tremont Ave area residents and beyond). JUSTICE will be a work in progress exhibition that takes place while NYS has been in lockdown, due to COVID-19, and has partially re-opened for families to work, go to school, and live in socially distanced terms, until further notice. The artists will present work that creates a dialogue around the racial and social disparities that were exacerbated by the Pandemic, resulting in the loss of thousands of Black, Brown, Asian and Indigenous lives, the disruption or total lack of education and social services to working-class and poor families, food insecurity and urban violence and police brutality. This summer has been pretty interesting due to the pandemic. All the staple events have gone virtual or have been cancelled. This year it was the 10th anniversary of the New Village Music Festival and the organizers decided to do something small with a few artists and one band. I was happy to come out and see people I haven't seen in a while. Painting outdoors is always plus! I decided I was going to create something for a friend that is having her second girl. I always like to gift Art, I try to think of something they will be able to use now but that it will last a little longer that only when they are babies. I created this two paintings so they realize how amazing they are and that Black Girls are MAGIC! This last months have been pretty emotional for me. Not only because of the pandemic, but because I had to move out of what was my studio for the last year and a half. This experience made me grow as an artist tremendously, it expanded my possibilities of creating and finding that space for me to think and just stare to the wall until the ideas come. During this time of packing up the studio and weird isolation I became part of a Social Distance Bike Club on FB. Looking at all those people sharing their bike rides made me think of my own bike rides, social rides, Nature rides... and how fun is to ride with friends, how much I like to ride on my own, and how biking has been a big part of my life, since I was little until now. Here I leave you with the last series of paintings I've done and the playlist of videos I created while painting them. Most of the paintings are available to purchase, you can contact me if you are interested. Prices and sizes here. Another amazing day at Boogie at the Boulevard happened this Sunday. I put together 5 amazing artists to paint live with me and the Bronx Community. Earlier in the week I asked through my social media what they would like me to paint and "Cats & Butterflies" was a pretty awesome answer, so this is my take on it! It's always so much fun to go out, paint, talk to the community, share time, laughs and dance moves! Thank you to the artists, to the volunteers and to all the friends that came out to Boogie on the Boulevard once more.
I will be painting live celebrating so many changes this year! I got a studio space in the same building BxArts Factory has found it's first home. We are making our debut in the Melrose community and we are creating our first Block pARTy!
Mark your calendars and join us on Saturday, August 10th on 3 to 6pm. We are celebrating all that we have accomplished, our new space, our new Melrose community and the future! In front of our studios/office at 240 E 153rd, (Between Park Ave. and Melrose Ave.) we will be taking over the block for some summer time and we want you and your family to be there! We will have music, street art, arts & crafts, games, poetry and performances for the whole family to enjoy! Save the date and join us for this FREE event we hope to see you there!! In a few days my artwork Third Eye will be auctioned during the ArtBridge 6th Annual Spring Art Auction. The proceeds will benefit Arbridge's programs to support artists and transform public space. Since last year I've been working with them on a couple of projects for the beautification of the South Bronx. If you are thinking of acquiring some artwork from NYC talented early-career artists this is your chance! Tuesday, June 6th from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Get your tickets! Third Eye Mixed media mounted on wood panel 44x16" 2017 This triptych is part of the series "Nature is Watching You". My purpose is to make people reflect on how we treat Nature and subsequently the planet. We have to be more conscious of our acts and their consequences. I have been painting EyeFlowers for a couple of years. Nature, Ecology, Sustainability are very important to me, but we live in a world of consumerism and materialism where we forget to take care of our planet. I was raised in a conscious household. We didn't waste energy, we recycled and upcycled almost everything. U.S.A has a different mentality where everything is used and thrown away. I would like to change that, even if it's one person at a time.    Image: Alyssa Clear, Goodbye Darling!, 2016 You are cordially invited to my last exhibition:
Noir: Defining the Melodrama Opening Reception + First Wednesday Bronx Trolley Wednesday, February 1, 2017 | 5-9pm Reception + First Wednesday Bronx Trolley Wednesday, March 1, 2017 | 5-9pm Reception + First Wednesday Bronx Trolley Wednesday, April 5, 2017 | 5-9pm Closing Reception + First Wednesday Bronx Trolley Wednesday, May 3, 2017 | 5-9pm Noir: Defining the Melodrama Curator: Juanita Lanzo, Charlie Vázquez & Kimberly Vaquedano-Rose Noir: Defining the Melodrama presents works by artists inspired by the genre film noir*. Artists in this exhibition revisit, re-imagine, appropriate and respond to iconography in noir that addresses current events, crime, urban life, gender roles, isolation and displacement through drawings, illustrations, painting, photography and video. Participating artists: Laura Alvarez, Tyrone Brown-Osborne, Carey Clark, Alyssa Clear, Robert De Jesus, Elizabeth Glushko & Steve Pavlovsky, Daniel Hauben, Rasheed Humphrey, Patrick Jewell, Nikki Johnson, Jayson Keeling, Gabrielle Lopez, Jeanette May, Osjua Newton, Gelah Penn, Nestor Perez-Moliere, Jaime Permuth, Ethan Shoshan, Shira Toren, Nitza Tufiño, Dennesa Usher, Boo Lynn Walsh, Joe Wippler, and Michael Young. *Film noir genre generally refers to mystery and crime drama films produced from the early 1940s to the late 1950s. Movies of this genre were characteristically shot in black and white, and featured stories involving femme fatales, doomed heroes or anti-heroes, and tough, cynical detectives. Other characteristics include low key or artificial lighting, scenes shot at night or under the rain, blurriness and voiced over narrations. The mood in noir films is often pessimistic, implying fear, treason or imminent danger. I've been doing Paint Parties for a while. Last week, a friend asked me to facilitate one for her birthday. She is very creative with her birthday parties and loves painting and crafting. I created a special painting for the event, inspired in the fall, as she requested, I designed a cute warm peacock. Even though they started a little scared, the blank canvas is very intimidating, at the end of the night everyone had a great piece of art to hang in their walls. I am always so proud!!! It is very rewarding to see how they create something from nothing.
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I am a...Graphic Designer, Illustrator, Educator, Community Activist... ARTIST! All Images COPYRIGHT © 2008-2021, are property of Laura Alvarez Fernandez. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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