Special Lot | Xochimilco by Alejandro Diaz

Special Lot supporting the Tomás Ybarra-Frausto Curatorial Fund

This piece has been donated by the artist in support of the Tomás Ybarra-Frausto Curatorial Fund which supports exhibitions and the professionalization of curators in the field. 

Starting Price: $3,500

Alejandro Diaz

Xochimilco, 2019

28 x 22 in.

Acrylic, fiber paste, and various vintage clothing buttons on canvas, signed and dated lower right

About the Work

The artist states, “All that culture of making do and being resourceful, Rasquachismo aesthetic, with materials had a huge influence on me.” In his painting Xochimilco, Diaz merges two influences—abstract expressionism and found objects—while the title references a borough just south of Mexico City known for its canals. These waterways are remnants of an extensive lake-and-canal system built by the Aztecs that connected most settlements in the Valley of Mexico.

About the Artist

Based in New York City, Alejandro Diaz is originally from San Antonio, TX where he developed an exciting and pertinent body of work exemplifying the complex and visually rich cultural milieu particular to South Texas and Mexico. Diaz’s conceptual, campy and political cardboard signs- which he began making and selling on the streets of Manhattan in the late 90s - are emblematic of his recurrent use of everyday materials, his humor infused politics, and his ongoing involvement with art as a form of entertainment, activism, public intervention, and free enterprise. The ongoing cardboard signs series continues to evolve with some of the sayings now being produced in neon.