Alejandra García, visual artist, presents her Fulbright-Harriet Hale Woolley show Tócame. This exhibition explores the complexity of growing up in a foreign country while being Mexican-American. Her paintings express feelings and experiences that intertwine, overlap or even oppose each other, and that have shaped the artist she is today.
In this selection of work entitled Tócame., acrylic paintings and drawings rendered on brown paper illuminate the feelings of desired and forced solitude that I have experienced during my time away from family and the familiar throughout my life. The series centers a recurring character named Diosa. Often flanked by nearly identical versions of herself or semi-human figures, Diosa appears stoic and at times, numb. Through this character, I seek to represent the complexities of being a Mexican-American woman growing up in the United States and abroad. I hope to capture the feelings of confusion and alienation that often accompany belonging to a historically marginalized community that has a complicated relationship with migration — rarely ever feeling full belonging in one place. My work ponders themes such as intergenerational trauma, gender and sexuality, mental health, and the desire for validation and belonging. Diosa’s elongated, skeletal body which is presented as nude or semi-nude — partially visible through transparent fabrics — evokes the discomfort between being constantly objectified and perceived, and actively attempting to gain control over one’s body.
The opening on April 6 is part of Art-Hop-Polis, art hopping at the Cité internationale on the first Wednesday of the month. The program of exhibitions will be available on CitéScope soon.
Practical Information
Date : April 6-30 | Opening date: Wednesday, April 6 as part of Art-Hop-Polis | Time: 7-8:30pm | Facebook event
The visit will no longer take place by time slot, but by registration on the guest list.
Covid : According to the latest announcements, masks are not mandatory but remain highly recommended. Please respect the general physical distancing guidelines. Hand sanitizer will be available at the entrance.
About the Artist
Alejandra García was born in San Diego, California and spent much of her youth traveling back and forth across the U.S.-Mexico border. Her work is centered around a protagonist named diosa, who embodies Alejandra’s exploration of her identity as a Mexican American woman. Alejandra combines visually grotesque imagery with moments of delicate tenderness in order to convey feelings of self-love and self-hatred. Her practice is rooted in introspection and in her desire to meld the aspects of herself that often feel contradictory. Through her work, Alejandra aims to take up space, to show that diosa and those who identify with her story can and should be the subject of fine art.
García received her BA in Visual Arts and English from Fordham University in New York in 2021, where she graduated summa cum laude and was awarded departmental honors in Visual Arts. She has participated in numerous group exhibitions in San Diego; including shows at La Bodega Gallery, Chicano Art Gallery, and Logan Ave Galería de Arte. She was the recipient of the 2020 Susan Lipani Travel Award. García was the Education Department Intern at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) in New York from 2020-2021, and is now an Artist Educator and Program Assistant at MAD. She worked as a creative tutor for A Free Bird, a non-profit organization that offers art classes for children battling cancer and other chronic illnesses.
García is a recipient of the 2021-2022 Fulbright-Harriet Hale Woolley Award in the Arts at the Fondation des États-Unis in Paris. During her time at the Fondation des États-Unis, García will research immigration in France and will develop a series of paintings that will be reflective of her personal experiences with migration both in the U.S. and in France.