Claudia Alvarez

Artist’s Statement

Deeply affected by the terminally ill children and elderly patients I encountered as a non-emergency ambulance driver, my painted and sculpted figures reflect their strength and vulnerability. My work addresses the way social, political, and psychological structures impact our behavior and personal interactions. By imbuing sculptures of children with adult characteristics and mannerisms, I tackle issues relating to violence, empowerment, endurance and what they reveal about human nature.

Claudia Alvarez (Mexican-American) is a painter and sculptor currently living in New York City. Born in Monterrey, Mexico in 1969 and raised in California from the age of three, she received a BA from the University of California, Davis in 1999 and an MFA from California College of Arts, San Francisco in 2003. Alvarez worked at the University of California Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, California from 1987-2000.

Alvarez’s pictures and sculptures have been exhibited in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Mexico. Recent solo exhibitions include: Girls with Guns, Scott White Contemporary Art, La Jolla, California; Falling, Museum of Nebraska Art, Kearney, Nebraska; Silencio de Agua, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Yucatan, Merida, Mexico; American Heroes, Blue Leaf Gallery, Dublin, Ireland, Cosas de un Niño, El Museo Latino, Omaha, Nebraska; History of Immigration, Metropolitan Community College, Omaha, Nebraska.

Her work has appeared in journals such as New American Paintings, The Irish Times, Art Pulse, NY Arts Magazine, Review Magazine, Ceramics Monthly, Ceramics: Art and Perception, and in the book by Judith Schwartz, Confrontational Ceramics. Collections include National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Yucatan, Merida, Mexico; Sheldon Museum of Art, Lincoln, Nebraska; El Museo Latino, Omaha, Nebraska; and Whitespace: The Mordes Collection West Palm Beach, Florida.

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About Posit Editor

Susan Lewis (susanlewis.net) is the Editor-in-chief and founder of Posit (positjournal.com) and the author of ten books and chapbooks, including Zoom (winner of the Washington Prize), Heisenberg's Salon, This Visit, and State of the Union. Her poetry has appeared in anthologies such as Walkers in the City (Rain Taxi), They Said (Black Lawrence Press), and Resist Much, Obey Little (Dispatches/Spuyten Duyvil), as well as in journals such as Agni, Boston Review, The Brooklyn Rail, Conjunctions online, Diode, Interim, New American Writing, and VOLT.