Alejandro Guzman

alejandroguzman.org

Intellectual Derelict
Sunroom Project Space | April 3—May 13, 2012

Alejandro Guzman’s Intellectual Derelict tells a loose narrative exploring the concrete manifestations of human nature, behavior, migration, consumption and materialism through his Sunroom Project installation and a series of performances. The artist creates performance objects from man-made and natural materials that merge storytelling with the practices of sculpture, painting and drawing. In his work, Guzman uses abstract and representational imagery to explore cultural and historical references that encompass colonialism, indigenous folklore traditions and European and American modernism.

The installation is dominated by a sculptural performance object, the central figure of the “Intellectual Derelict.” The piece expresses a dual character, covered in colorful flowers and drawings on one side and small mirrors and black-and-white drawings on the other. This sculptural figure appears in three scheduled performances that enrich the exhibition and allude to the experience of encountering the natural world, including sensual awakening, ecstatic exuberance and concern for the environment. In the Sunroom, the work attracts the eye with its vibrant color while reflecting fragmented images of the viewer and the space. The artist has said that “sharing our inherent mutual experiences and beliefs is at the forefront of my work.” A large-scale drawing on the floor is brought to earth level. It recalls ritualistic forms of floor drawing, such as Haitian veves and sandpainting practiced by Tibetan Buddhist monks and Native Americans. The patterning of the drawing on the floor and the bright monumental painting on the wall work in unison with the natural surroundings to offer an invigorating experience.

Born in Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, Guzman currently lives and works in New York, NY. He holds an MFA in Fine Arts and a BFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts, New York. He has exhibited in venues throughout New York City, including solo exhibitions at Taller Boricua, AD Projects and Clayton Gallery & Outlaw Museum, as well as group shows at the Queens Museum of Art, 55 Delancey Street, HammerSpace and Low Lives. Guzman has shown nationally in venues such as Galleria Sin Titulo, San Juan, PR; the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, CO; and the Toledo Museum of Art, from which he received an Award Honorarium in 2004. In October 2011, he participated in Ritual: Art in Odd Places 2011, New York, NY.

Intellectual Derelict, 2012
Mixed media
Dimensions variable
Courtesy of the artist

Intellectual Derelict: The Meltdown, 2012
Outdoor performance on April 1, 2012 at Wave Hill
Mixed media sculpture by Alejandro Guzman; ice sculpture by Okamoto Studio
Courtesy of the artist

Alejandro Guzman
Intellectual Derelict, 2012
Mixed media
Dimensions variable
Courtesy of the artist
Photo: Ken Goebel