Alex Perez: Meet the Artist
Living and working in Grand Rapids, MI, I (Alex) began as a musician and gradually cultivated other creative practices in the field of visual art, including stop-motion animation, sculpture, painting, and drawing. Now working as a full-time artist, my time is devoted to the exploration of ideas, imploring new techniques and mediums, as well as familiar ones to create art that connects with each evolution of the self. I create art because I have been gifted the life to be able to do so, through the hard work of generations of relatives, and to stay true to a promise I made to myself as a kid to never stop playing with my toys. Whether those toys be action figures or pieces of wire and clay, there is a story that is asking to be told.
Q: How did you get involved with Lions and Rabbits?
A: Through a fellow muralist!
Q: Run us through your creative process: Medium? How do you start, flow and finish?
A: I'll use whatever medium is within arm’s reach, if I'm at the beach, I'll draw in the sand. Though, lately, I prefer drawing on large pieces of paper with oil sticks and charcoal. I'll use anything from a leaf to a knife, whatever gets the emotion across most accurately. Usually the less I think about creating, the better. There is a wobbly line between letting your instinct take charge and the self-conscious human who is too afraid to move. Trusting what you naturally gravitate toward day after day will get you to the finish line.
Q: What themes/ideas are highlighted in your work? Intentions?
A: Movement is the most prevailing thing in my work. This probably comes from my belief that everything is alive. Whether or not that is true, I think the sentiment will guide a person to meet the world with compassion and curiosity.
Q: Can you share more about how your career as an artist began?
A: There is no specific day it began, though I did make dozens of local concert posters while I was first becoming fascinated by the art of drawing. The career became very real when I quit my day job!
Q: What mistakes have you made? What obstacles have you encountered throughout your career as an artist?
A: The greatest obstacle I've found as an artist is navigating the doubt of the value of art itself. Could I do more good, could I be a better person, could I make a bigger difference if I chose a different career path? Possibly! This has challenged me to look outside of the art world, to get my hands dirty. Which leads me to possibly a more important obstacle: how can we as artists keep the doors open, include, rather than alienate those who don't call themselves 'artists' or 'creatives'?
Q: Who/what are your biggest inspirations that play a key role in your work?
A: That’s the biggest mystery of all! I think it's called life.
After Dark 2022 located in Black Napkin. Grand Rapids, MI
Q: Do you feel supported by your community as an artist? In what ways could you feel more supported?
A: Most often I do! If I am feeling unsupported, I've found it important to go outside, to talk to fellow artists, friends, family etc. People are excited about art, sometimes it takes getting out of your bubble to feel that.
Q: What is the function of artists in society? What does being an artist mean to you?
A: Art's function is to challenge our perceptions of the world to become broadened as possible, to expand our definitions of beauty, and to connect us to ourselves. To me being an artist means to be fearless, and to bring creativity to real-life problems.
Q: Describe a moment when you felt most proud of yourself
A: This morning the sun was out and I was able to sit in the kitchen and drink a cup of coffee and feel the sunshine on my face. I'm very grateful to not have to rush through my days, that, in fact, I get excited at the day's possibilities.
Q: What are you currently working on or looking forward to?
A: Currently, I am recording an album, working on mural proposals, and looking into building (possibly carving) frames for a series of large paintings. Looking forward to sharing a music video I finished up the other week!
Q: BONUS: If you could choose any superpower, what would it be?🦸🏻♀️⚡️🌀
A: To grow food by merely looking at the soil
Follow more of Alex’s work on instagram.com/allickspurrez
Thank you for checking out this week’s Meet the Artist, be sure to check out more artist stories dropping weekly on our blog!
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