Jessica Alazraki’s figurative portraits convey everyday stories of colorful characters. These are confronting the viewer, without interacting with each other, instead submerged in their own personal psyche. The narratives are based in ordinary and familiar scenes of Latino family life, highlighting the influence of American culture and implying indirect political statements. The strong presence of primitive and naïve style connects the works to folklore elements and Mexican crafts.
Composition and color are prominent in the paintings, as the artist opts for the placement of the elements versus the realistic quality of the form. Her intention is to break traditional viewing rules and come up with unpredictable pictures. Laws of perspectives and anatomy are altered thus creating distortions and exaggerations and ultimately prioritizing emotion over objective reality.
Humor, nostalgia, patterns and decorative elements play an important role in the compositions. The light source is not clear, nor consistent, and color enters the paintings in radical, aggressive ways delivering emotion. Within the representational figures, abstracted forms appear. This subtle abstraction brings forth the social condition of the Latino, both defined and abstracted in the US.
“Door Open”
“Siesta”
“Balloons”
“Winter Scene”
“Couple”
