Alejandro Augustine Padilla is a self-taught multidisciplinary artist whose work is rooted in the Surrealist ideals of the subconscious and the discipline of automatism. Padilla’s introspective work delves into the positive and negative effects of past trauma on his creative practice.

Ranging from energetic ink drawings and meticulous oil paintings to inventive assemblages and experimental films, Padilla’s work is an honest documentation of the feverish force to create and balance his mental state. This can particularly be seen in the tension of line work and his ironic use of vibrant colors onto darker subject matter.

Padilla has exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout San Antonio and the Southwest. In addition to his full-time artistic practice, over the past 15 years, Padilla has run multiple exhibition spaces including Mitos Gallery, the Michigan Building Artist Studios, and Studio Fantomas, where he frequently exhibited the work of emerging San Antonio artists.

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Artist Statement of Work

Tell us about your work (style, approach, philosophy, subject and/or theme):

Having dealt with the physiological aspects of mental health, such as chronic depression and panic disorder, my work is the manifestation of an artist's attempt to face and overcome this trauma-induced anxiety.

Through familiar, yet elusive forms and or symbolism, I create unnatural happenings to convey the feelings of isolation and depersonalization that occur with depression. To further emphasize the sense of anxiety, organic and synthetic objects as well as perverse forms are set within a confined space.

Through the practice of automatism, my ink drawings and paintings become violent improvised abstractions. This artistic process runs parallel to my complex emotional state, wherein my normally refined work, and self, are stripped down to create an idiosyncratic craft.

Everything from my personal symbolism, my perversions, my sanctimoniousness, my immoral compass, and my search for intellectual enlightenment is represented in my work. Here everything is now a symbol. Every piece laundered to live bearably within my consciousness.

Culturally Specific Art Category

Select Culturally Specific Art Category:: Hispanic or Latino/a/x

PHOTOS

  • Gallery 1 - Alejandro Augustine Padilla
  • Gallery 2 - Alejandro Augustine Padilla
  • Gallery 3 - Alejandro Augustine Padilla
  • Gallery 4 - Alejandro Augustine Padilla
  • Again, The State of The Universe is Forgetting, 19in.x24in., ink on paper

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