CROSSING BORDERS at Van Der Plas Gallery NYC
By José Gregorio Noroño
The Van Der Plas Gallery on the Lower East Side of New York City focuses on promoting and disseminating artistic production that departs from the precepts of traditional art, which is why it is considered a space to house artists interested in exploring unconventional fields of art.
Since December 12, Van Der Plas has been presenting the group exhibition “Crossing Borders” in its spaces; an event in which Alejandro Caiazza participates along with other artists, such as Al Diaz, Antony Zito, Wendall (FA-Q), Marc Bell, Susan Day, The Green Lady of Brooklyn (Elizabeth Sweetheart), and others. This group of artists operates within the visual discourse of contemporary, marginal, and street art. On this occasion, they come together to exhibit, through their works, the challenging idea of transcending the limits or borders that exist between the different horizons of human endeavor, such as the boundaries of our perception. In this way, they induce the viewer to question their surroundings: to challenge the political and cultural boundaries related to themes such as identity, migration, and cultural borders, as well as to transcend the limits of art, exploring and experimenting beyond technical, formal, and conceptual confines.
Among these visual creators who challenged existing limits in the realms of perception, politics, culture, and art, Alejandro Caiazza’s artistic proposal stands out in the context of “Crossing Borders.” This artist boasts a distinguished career, including exhibitions in various galleries and museums, such as Van Der Plas, the gallery that represents him, where he has held several solo shows.
In his pursuit of transcending borders, Caiazza has consolidated a style influenced by Jean-Michel Basquiat and Georg Baselitz, in which art brut, bad paint, neo-expressionism, pop art, outsider art, and street art flow, combine, and condense. In keeping with his artistic experimentation, Caiazza works with a mixed media technique, layering traditional and unconventional artistic processes such as painting, drawing, and collage. In this case, he incorporates fabrics, buttons, plastic or metal mesh, wire, and textile patterns, allowing him to create visually rich compositions characterized by their gestural quality, chromatic expressiveness, and material treatment. His themes, permeated by satire and irony, address social criticism, politics, individual and collective identity, and the issues of migration.
Ultimately, through this exhibition, “Crossing Borders,” Caiazza and the artists in this collective, starting from the concept that unites them (challenging limits), aim to generate profound reflection in the viewer.
@alejandro_caiazza
AlejandroCaiazza.com
