With free forms, color combinations and the use of new materials, such as the spatula, his compositions on trains and subways become abstract, while remaining faithful to the codes and spirit of vandalism.
Speerstra Gallery Paris is delighted to welcome artist Alonso Alcalde, who presents his new solo exhibition entitled "Graffiti tales from Chile to Paris".
Born in Santiago de Chile in 1980, Alonso has developed a polymorphous artistic language, exploring a variety of media including calligraphy, photography, painting and collage. His need to express himself led him to emigrate to Europe, where he lived illegally for several years before regularizing his situation and settling down.
This singular path nourishes the energy and diversity of his work, marked by constant travel in search of new experiences. The quest for these unique moments finds its common thread in the "bombing" of trains, a vandalizing practice that is the foundation of his work. His remarkable, colorful style of writing leads him to paint trains clandestinely, placing his art in an aesthetic of urgency and ephemerality. Alonso is also distinguished by his permanent desire to innovate and push back his own limits. With free forms, color combinations and the use of new materials, such as the spatula, his compositions on trains and subways become abstract, while remaining faithful to the codes and spirit of vandalism. One of his favorite places? "My favorite subway system is Paris", he confides, highlighting his intimate link with the city and its graffiti culture.
For him, these illegal, instantaneous and adrenalin-filled actions are the very essence of graffiti. Far from letting these moments fade away, Alonso immortalizes them through his photographs, which he cuts up and integrates into his works. He adds touches of paint, collage and text, transforming each shot into a living testimony to his practice. This creative process transposes graffiti into the gallery space.
Alonso Alcalde reinvents his art by deconstructing in order to better reconstruct it. He leaves his signature while perpetually evolving. With this exhibition, Alonso invites us to discover the burning passion that drives his work and to follow his story.
© Speerstra Gallery
