Alexis Duque
Condo (2020) 24 x18 Inches, Acrylic on canvas
Cabinet (2020) 24 x18 Inches, Acrylic on canvas
Babel (2017) 14x11 inch, Acrylic on canvas
The chaotic and unavoidable process of urbanization in our globalized and over populated world are the central focus of my work. I am interested in depicting clustered spaces and precarious constructions that seem to multiply and overflow with crowded objects in one continuous urban sprawl, at the same time as such structures begin to crumble and decompose from within. Through the use of exaggerated drama and distortion, my work attempts to challenge the way the viewer confronts the idea of consumerism and urbanization within contemporary culture and draw the viewer’s attention to the isolation of the transitory residents, like semi-nomads that emigrate hoping to find a better life on the outskirts of large metropolises. Newly globalized economies have engendered major changes, from expanded trade networks to new methods of commodity production and the shifts in the labor force these activities require. In recent decades, new patterns of migration have emerged and significant populations have moved to rapidly expanding urban centers, transforming the individual’s relationship to the city. I investigate the conditions of metropolitan landscapes, including the effects of gentrification and urban renewal, political expression, and power.
BIO:
Imaginatively charting the psychological experience of space, Alexis Duque produces paintings and drawings of buildings and domestic interiors stacked and conglomerated into trippy, absurd mounds and towers. His compositions are detailed, highly organized, and meticulously architectural. With a psychedelic precision reminiscent of M.C. Escher’s, Duque uses perspectival tricks and surrealistic overlapping to render dozens of skyscrapers as a single red tower; or homes, living rooms, train tracks, and alleys as a mass on the verge of collapsing into itself like a black hole. The wheeling bird’s-eye view that he often employs recalls the Italian Futurists’ soaring imagery of cities as seen from airplanes. Through his playful stacking and piling, he reorders cities to examine the formal properties of their architecture.
Alexis Duque holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The University of Antioquia, Colombia. His work has been exhibited in numerous venues including: at El Museo del Barrio, The Drawing Center and Praxis International Gallery in New York; The Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA), Long Beach, CA; Champion Contemporary, Austin, TX; The Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art, Midland, MI; RudolfV Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands and Galleri Oxholm in Copenhagen, Denmark. Duque’s work has been featured in several publications, including: "Imagine Architecture: Artistic Visions Of The Urban Realm”, “Caribbean: Together Apart Contemporary Artists from (part of) the Caribbean" Imago Mundi - Luciano Benetton, Blue Canvas Magazine, LandEscape Art review, Beautiful Decay, Artistaday, New American Paintings, Studio Visit Magazine, The East Hampton Star, The East Hampton Press and El Diario of New York. Duque currently lives and works in NYC.