Jessica Alazraki was born and raised in Mexico City, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in communication from Universidad Anáhuac. Since 1998, she’s been based in New York City. Jessica has exhibited her work in six solo exhibitions in the United States and in over 50 group exhibitions. In 2018, she received the Award of Excellence from the Huntington Arts Council and an Honorable Mention Award from the Barrett Art Center. In 2019, she participated in the ARTWorks Fellowship at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (JCAL) and was selected into the Creative Capital NYC “El Taller” in collaboration with the Hemispheric Institute. In 2020, Jessica completed the Trestle Art Space Residency Program, was awarded the New Work Grant by the Queens Art Fund, and won the Diane Etienne Founders Award from the Stamford Art Association. In 2021, she was shortlisted for the Hopper Price Award and was a finalist for the Alexander Rutsch Award. She participated in a group exhibit at MoCa Museum in Westport, CT. Jessica was named the 2021 MvVo AdArt Show winner and The Jackson Painting Prize Emerging Artist Award 2021. In 2022 she was selected for Fountainhead Artist Residency in Miami Fl. and participated in a group exhibit at Hudson Valley Moca Museum. And in 2023 was a finalist for the Alexander Rutsch Award and she had a solo exhibition at Columbia University. In 2024 she was selected for Anderson Ranch Residency Program in Aspen, Co. and Dot-Ateliers Residency Program in Accra, Ghana.
Her works are in important collections like the Hort Family Collection, the Rubell Family Collection, the Jorge Perez Collection, the Lipson Collection, the Hornik Collection, the Whitley Collection, the 5M Collection, the Vascovitz Collection, the Gautereaux Collection, Straus Collection and more.
Statement
Jessica Alazraki brings together her experiences as an immigrant and artist to dismantle misconceptions of Latinx identity. By providing glimpses at the intimate moments of everyday life, her paintings immerse viewers in the radiant energy that challenges negatively perpetuated narratives with a celebration of people and culture.
With an in-depth knowledge of design, Alazraki translated her fascination with color palettes and patterns as an association of identity into new ways of communicating the unseen elements of daily life in immigrant households. Breaking apart traditional approaches to painting, she combines gestural and spontaneous elements associated with abstract painting into her figurative scenes. Textures and gestures emerge that heighten the development of not only the narrative of the overarching piece but also intensify the stories of her subjects.
As the abstract and realistic elements fuse together, the scenes teeter between the familiar and the surreal. Furthering this distortion, she plays with anatomical proportions, manipulates a sense of depth and perspective, and brings together unusual palettes of vibrant colors. The whimsical becomes the bizarre in her own collage aesthetic, allowing these characters' stories to differentiate from our own day-to-day.
Here, Alarzaki uses her raw, genuine, and free process of expression to emphasize the beauty and the energy inherent in these concealed displays of culture. Reimagining colors and patterns typically tied to the Latinx or immigrant identity, she creates relatable scenes that evoke shared sentiments of hope, loyalty, and family. She expresses the love, affection, and hardships that unite these families as they work to achieve a better life. In her displays, she invites viewers to rethink the impact and the cultural value of these individuals by recognizing the contributions of their resilient spirit.
Jessica Alazraki was born and raised in Mexico City, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in communication from Universidad Anáhuac. Since 1998, she’s been based in New York City. Jessica has exhibited her work in six solo exhibitions in the United States and in over 50 group exhibitions. In 2018, she received the Award of Excellence from the Huntington Arts Council and an Honorable Mention Award from the Barrett Art Center. In 2019, she participated in the ARTWorks Fellowship at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (JCAL) and was selected into the Creative Capital NYC “El Taller” in collaboration with the Hemispheric Institute. In 2020, Jessica completed the Trestle Art Space Residency Program, was awarded the New Work Grant by the Queens Art Fund, and won the Diane Etienne Founders Award from the Stamford Art Association. In 2021, she was shortlisted for the Hopper Price Award and was a finalist for the Alexander Rutsch Award. She participated in a group exhibit at MoCa Museum in Westport, CT. Jessica was named the 2021 MvVo AdArt Show winner and The Jackson Painting Prize Emerging Artist Award 2021. In 2022 she was selected for Fountainhead Artist Residency in Miami Fl. and participated in a group exhibit at Hudson Valley Moca Museum. And in 2023 was a finalist for the Alexander Rutsch Award and had a solo exhibition at Columbia University in NY. In 2024 she was selected for Anderson Ranch Residency Program in Aspen, Co. and Dot Ateliers Residency Program in Accra, Ghana. Her work is featured in several publications including New American Paintings, No. 152, Northeast Issue.
Her works are in important collections like the Hort Family Collection, the Rubell Family Collection, the Jorge Perez Collection, the Lipson Collection, the Hornik Collection, the Whitley Collection, the 5M Collection, the Vascovitz Collection, the Gautereaux Collection, Straus Collection and more.
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