Alexander Bustamante
Alexander Bustamante
Alexander Bustamante
Alexander Bustamante’s works examine the experience of being first generation American and the role that race and class play in American society. The work explore these themes by creating a rich vocabulary of symbols from everyday life; experiment with their meaning and potentials in different mediums such as painting, drawings, sculpture, performances, digital 3d, video, and installations.
Durag Dynasty
2017 Bronze 177.8 x 15.24 x 20.32 cm / 70 x 6 x 8 in
‘I’ve been going through this move. I am collecting ten years worth of things and going through it. And so, I think my particular shift for this thesis body of work, is centering on the idea of ‘ending’. An end point. Whether it’s a refresher point or whatever. But it’s been a culmination of a ridiculous process to go back to school at this stage and to have it all end the way it is with the world and this state...
...So, you know, just moving and just going through history and trying to, like, tie all these things in is where I’m at right now. So it’s a little bit more sculptural, I would say, than 2D. One of the pieces I am showing is a bronze du-rag. Du-rag is that fabric thing that minorities use to wear to hold their hair back. So I brought it out. It’s a head shaped sculpture. So a lot of it has to do with the materials, importance of materials, cultural references, and then modifying it to where I am, how it fits me.’—Alexander Bustamante
Tin
2019 Charcoal, latex paint, paper 182.88 x 215.9 cm / 72 x 85 in
In Loving Memory
2020 Paper, charcoal, acrylic 121.92 x 81.28 cm / 48 x 32 in
Hunter MFA
The annual Spring 2020 Thesis Exhibition for graduates of the Hunter College MFA Studio Art program represents works by 19 artist graduates of this nationally noted program. Originally planned as a series of physical presentations at Hunter’s 205 Hudson Street campus in Tribeca, but canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MFA Thesis Exhibition’s digital iteration aims to provide a new, expanded platform for young artists entering the field.
Photo: Alexander Bustamante