MARY ALVAREZ — MIXED MEDIA
Juxtaposing Realities: Structure, Ruin, & Fluidity
Garden of Consciousness: Moment of Rupture
Mixed Media Collage | 2013 | 11×9 inches
Transition from a monument to capitalism to underground garden within the same space.
Garden of Consciousness: Moment of Confrontation
Mixed Media Collage | 2013 | 11×9 inches
Partial separation from a monument to capitalism and shifting of spatial volume to generate a feeling of collapse as the viewer observes a separation of two worlds.
Garden of Consciousness: Moment of Reflection
Mixed Media Collage | 2013 | 11×9 inches
Complete separation from a monument to capitalism. The light engages the perceiver in a moment of meditation.
Garden of Consciousness: Moment of Change
Mixed Media Collage | 2013 | 11×9 inches
Completely separated by the capitalist world above, re-birth and change occur as the perceiver enters a green house where life grows in protection.
Impermanence
Watercolor and ink on synthetic paper | 2018 | 14×10.5 inches
This piece seeks to materialize a notion of impermanence where water and earth converge, capturing a moment of constant change, of growth and decay, of birth and death.
Artist’s Statement
My art and architectural design seek to explore the experience of metanoia by juxtaposing opposite phenomena to challenge the observer’s preconceived notions and ideas. By engaging the mind and providing a surreal experience, a new perspective of seeing the world emerges.
My artwork reflects my fascination with and attempts to understand the Buddhist concept of Nature of Reality: The constant cycle of change, impermanence, birth, and death. My architectural design intents to transform awareness to environmental and social issues affecting our world, to instigate collective change through the experience of space.
Mary Alvarez received her Masters in Architecture and Urban Design from the University of South Florida. She currently practices architecture and is an avid artist in Tampa, Florida.