This piece is entitled, “Finding La Vie en Rose #2”.  It is a multi-media piece with handmade paper and painted with acrylic.  Alex is well-known for his handmade papers and their colorful and creative additions to his art.  The birds, flowers, and painted lines are an important visual aspect of his artwork. The piece has a wood frame.

Alex Pena is an enrolled member of the Comanche Nation but is also part San Ildefonso Pueblo and Pawnee. He received his BFA from Cameron University and an MA and MFA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  He has previously taught at the Institute of American Indian Art.  We are pleased to have his original paintings and drawings in the gallery.  

Alex says of his artwork:

Flowers, birds, writing-like abstractions, irregular formats, and especially lines are pervasive elements in my work. Combinations of these indicate simultaneous occurrences of dissimilar and contrasting events and emotions.  Obscurity is intentional. Sharing is limited. The absolute is elusive. Certainty and uncertainty are symbiotic. My personal exploration of these and the inevitable tension creates my visual language.