Jhina Alvarado
Biography
Solo and Featured Artist Shows
2010 Ampersand Vintage Gallery, Portland OR
Solo Show
Blue Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Featured Artist
2009 Variety Preview Room Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Solo Show
2000 Gallery 381g, San Francisco, CA
Featured Artist
1999 Debra Owen Gallery, San Diego, CA
Solo Show
Galeria Dos Damas, Palm Springs, CA
Solo Show
Gallery 381g, San Francisco, Ca
Featured Artist
1998 Debra Owen Gallery, San Diego, CA
Solo Show
Group Shows
2011
111 Minna Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Artzone 461 Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Madison Gallery, La Jolla, CA
2010
Aqua Art Fair, Miami, FL
Stephanie Breitbard Fine Art
Affordable Art Fair, New York, NY
Julie Nester Gallery
San Francisco Fine Art Fair, San Francisco, CA
Artzone 461 Gallery
Blue Gallery, Kansas City, MO
Julie Nester Gallery, Park City, UT
Artzone 461 Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Tribute Gallery, Portland, OR
Gallery-U, Montclair, NJ
2009
Jack Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, Boone, NC
Marin Community Foundation, Novato, CA
80 Washington Square East Galleries, New York City, NY
“32nd Annual Small Works Show”
Daniel Ferris, Juror
Seed Corn Gallery, Berkeley, CA
2008
Reaves Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Summit Fine Art Gallery, Banff, Alberta Canada
Bachelier Cardonsky Gallery, Kent CT
80 Washington Square East Galleries, New York City, NY
“31st Annual Small Works Show”
Richard Witter, Juror
2007
Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Novato, CA
Lauryn Taylor Fine Art Gallery, Carmel, CA
80 Washington Square East Galleries, New York City, NY
“30th Annual Small Works Show”
Jim Kempner, Juror
Honorable Mention
Eclectix Gallery, El Cerrito, CA
2006
O’Hanlon Center for the Arts, Mill Valley, CA
Artist Choice Award Winner
2000
Hang Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Variious Group Shows, 2000-2002
Washington Square Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Debra Owen Gallery, San Diego, CA
1997
Artisans Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
Merit Award Winner
Museum of Arts, Downtown Los Angeles, CA
Center for the Visual Arts, Oakland, CA
Gallery One One One, Ventura, CA
St, John’s University, Jamaica, NY
State of the Art Gallery, Ithaca, NY
Publications
“Encaustic Art: The Complete Guide to Creating Fine Art with Wax” by Lissa Rankin, 2010
Random House Publishing
Andalou “Defaults in Design”, CD cover art 2008
Tiny Black Dots “Coming Apart Slowly”, CD cover art 2007
USA Television Series “Silk Stalkings” 1998
Mondo 2000 Magazine. Cover art for Summer 1997 issue.
New American Paintings, Winter 1997
Artist Statement
In my series, titled “Forgotten Memories”, I use oil paints to depict the untold stories from long forgotten photographs. I paint these images on wood panels using a considerable amount of white space with the images cropped out of their environment, creating a sense of unbalance and emphasizing the need to focus on the individual’s memory, rather than the whole picture. White areas from the images blend with the negative spaces of the panel to create tension and abstraction of each delineated line. Since many memories are shared, the identity of the person within each memory is inconsequential. The eyes are blocked out so that the viewer can take part of each memory as if it were their own. The painting is then covered in encaustic wax to add an antique photo look and dream-like feel to each piece. Because many memories are unclear and somewhat “fuzzy”, the wax also obscures the images as if the viewer, themselves, were trying to recall a past event, yet could not remember all of the details.
I started this series because it made me sad to see so many old photographs sold in thrift stores and flea markets or thrown away, as if the memories no longer mattered, the events recorded no longer important. This series is my attempt to resurrect these memories in a contemporary way.
Artist Biography
Jhina Alvarado is a Mexican- Korean artist who expresses herself using oil and encaustic wax. She is a self-taught artist and holds a masters’ degree in math education and a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies. Jhina, a native Californian, has lived in San Francisco since 1994 where she paints while also teaching pre-calculus and advanced algebra at the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts.