Luxurious Illusion: The Paintings of Alejandro Alexati Carrillo

Born in Mexico City, Alejandro (Alexati) Carrillo turned to art as a means of capturing the beauty in his life. Later, it became a refuge when the surrounding world became dark or dull. Carrillo is primarily a figurative painter drawing on art nouveau and art decon influences. Most evident is his appreciation of Tamara de Lempicka’s work, which echoes through his own paintings. Carrillo also turns to other painters for inspiration: to the delicacy of Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun’s figures and to the wildness of Dali and Kahlo, as well as to photographers Helmut Newton and Guy Bourdin for the glamorous approach they take with their work.

Working with oils, Carrillo achieves smooth skin tones accented by strategically placed colors. Wrapped in rich, red gowns and furs, adorned with makeup, never more than an arm’s reach from a cocktail or glass of champagne, Carrillo’s figures represent the epitome of luxurious existence. However, this glamor is shallow, he warns. “It is the illusion some of us like to keep in our minds, to be able to keep standing in the world and have a goal.”

Alejandro (Alexati) Carrillo works from a studio in Condesa, Mexico City.

Exhibition Dates: January 21, 2017 – February 10, 2017

Reception: Thursday January 26, 2017, 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Gallery Hours: Tues-Sat 11-6

Gallery Location: 530 West 25th St, Chelsea, New York

Event URL: http://www.agora-gallery.com/artistpage/Alejandro_(Alexati)_Carrillo.aspx

Featured Artists:

Plurality of Expression

Alejandro (Alexati) Carrillo  |  George Struikelblok  |  Robert Thiebaud  |  Aurélie Beer  |  Kate Wilson  |  Mimi Moylan  |  Falcan Iulia-Lavinia

About the Exhibition

The Many Worlds in "Plurality of Expression"

Agora Gallery is pleased to present Plurality of Expression, a new group exhibition highlighting the incredible diversity of visual language that the human mind is capable of creating. Seven artists are featured, among them painters, sculptors, photographers, and interdisciplinary artists. The group hails from a wide range of places including Peru, Romania, and Canada, and their far-flung origins influence their work in unexpected ways. Instead of any one artist creating pieces in a traditional or characteristic style of their home, this group represents the ever-increasing globalization of our world. Each artist shows knowledge of old and new techniques, and local and foreign aesthetics. Influences are cherished, but they are also interrogated and pushed further. Information travels quickly in the art world.

The strength of Plurality of Expression lies in just how different its featured artists are. One painter creates meticulously realistic tableaux of utterly fantastic landscapes - a road floating over an endless sky, or an egg that has sprouted its own feather. Another artist creates digital photographs exploring the nature of femininity through wondrously tactile liquids and fabrics. Yet another makes jewel-toned paintings of flat, serpentine figures, and another makes infinitely layered visions of the cosmos.