Alexis Duque
500 E. 119th Street
#7 New York, NY 10035
tel: 646.644.8900
www.alexisduque.net

Statement
Slums or Shantytowns as a social phenomenon highly characteristic of cities in developing countries are the central focus of my work. There is a dichotomy in these societies, and I
use this as a starting point to deal and try to understand the chaotic and unavoidable
processes of urbanization caused by rural, internal and external migrations.

My work attempts to challenge our constructed responses to these images by triggering a
double take in the way the viewer confronts the idea of urbanization, and urbanization
within contemporary culture. My paintings explore perceptions of innocence and violence, transgression and balance. I like to work with improbability and distortion, and this often
let us discern what is normal and what is not; dysfunction helps to elucidate function.

The dual experience is evoked by exaggerating drama and chaos in a destroyed street after a bombing, using bright and pastel colors, or the total absence of human beings in a landscape opposing the saturation of daily objects. With this juxtaposition I pretend to create a response
that fluctuates between purity and corruption, balance and distortion.

Professional Goals
To pose a different perspective on urban landscape of the developing world and to generate consciousness around this issue which continues to expand globally.

© Alexis Duque, 2006.

Mountain, Acrylic on Canvas 24x44 inches