Alejandro Almanza Pereda

Alejandro Almanza Pereda was born in Mexico City in 1977, he has a Master’s degree in Arts from Hunter College, New York. He lives in Guadalajara Mexico. Alejandro has been influenced by living in different parts in Mexico and United States of America. He grew interest in how different cultures perceive danger and risk. Almanza’s endeavor focus on materiality concepts by challenging objects conceptually and physically in Sculptures and underwater photographs and videos. His work explores the culturally specific paradigms of safety, danger and architecture through the juxtaposition and pairing of materials and objects. These juxtapositions achieve a sense of tension from makeshift environments with specific connotations, such as fragility, value, weight and power. He integrates mundane materials into large-scale sculptures that challenge both the durability of the objects and his ability to create a stable structure. His frequent use of neon light-tubes, for instance, is due in part to his interest in the simultaneous fragility and strength of these objects that are easily shattered but, in some positions, can withstand significant pressure. Finding inspiration in the objects he selects, Almanza Pereda eschews narrative and prefers to focus on materiality. Though his work is influenced by Dutch still-life painting, it can touch on the surreal, especially in more recent work that experiments with underwater photography. He has done solo shows in different institutions like San Francisco Art Institute; Museo El Eco, Mexico City; Art in General New York; Stanley Rubin Center, El Paso TX; College of Wooster Art Museum Ohio; ChertLüdde in Berlin. His work has been featured at the Istanbul Biennal, ASU Museum; Museo de Arte Moderno, Mexico City; Dublin Contemporary 2011; 6a Bienal de Curitiba Brazil; El Museo del Barrio and the Queens Museum, both in New York. Alejandro has attended the Skowhegan and Bemis Art Residencies program as well as a grant recipient of the CIFO Grant Program, the Harpo Foundation Grant program and the Harker Award for Interdisciplinary Studies. His work was featured in Art 21 close up series. He is currently a member of LA RUBIA TE BESA an Art band project.