Jhina Alvarado

"In my current series, Wallflowers, I continue my exploration of long forgotten black and white photos of the 1930s to 1960s while attempting to resurrect these memories in a contemporary way. I paint these images with the subjects removed from their environment, focusing on the actions of the individual, while also stating the unimportance of said individual by cropping out the most defining feature of that person; the eyes. By cropping out the eyes, I am making the person into "every" person. The action of cropping the eyes out of the composition enables the viewer to take part in the painting by connecting with the familiar, allowing it to resonate with their subconscious, and creating a shared experience."

"My focus of this series is to explore the lighter side of memories, to relish in the good, the hopeful. Because of this, the figures are superimposed over colorful, "wallpapered" backgrounds, adding a sense of whimsy and color, to which all happy memories should have. These paintings are then covered in multiple layers of encaustic wax, adding a "soft focus" to each painting as if it were a distant memory or dream that one is try to recall or hang on to. The wax also adds a “yellowed” and aged tinge to the paintings, reminiscent of an old black and white photo that one has held on to for many generations."

Jhina Alvarado
September 2019

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Singular Glamour is Jhina’s first solo show at Skidmore Contemporary Art. This collection of paintings focuses on old Hollywood glamour, the glitzy, and seduction of an era when glamour reigned supreme. It is her triumphant return to painting after taking time off to recover from breast cancer. These paintings are a symbol of a gratitude to be alive and the good things yet to come.

Jhina Alvarado is a self-taught contemporary realism artist who works in oils and encaustic wax. She is represented by galleries across the United States and her work has been featured in various international and national magazines, blogs, and art technique books. Her paintings of Grace Kelly were recently acquired by Prince Albert of Monaco and is now part of the royal collection. She currently works as an AP calculus teacher at the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts and paints in her home studio in San Francisco, California where she lives with her husband, four-year-old twins, and a spunky Italian greyhound named Albert.

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Watch: The Glamorous Life process video by Jhina Alvarado

 

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Watch: Series about artists using art to heal by Michael Sullivan