Jessica Alazraki values the opportunity to represent her culturE
It’s a warm spring day in April. Jessica Alazraki walks into Black Wall Street Gallery in Soho, carrying two large oil paintings. Wholly unplanned but almost as if destined, she unwraps the paintings she has scheduled to get framed around the corner at Soho Fine Arts to show the gallery’s curator and owner, Dr. Ricco Wright. Immediately enamored with her immense talent and artistry, Wright offers Alazraki a show on the spot; Jessica’s solo exhibition “La Familia” opened to a warm reception and a steady stream of guests throughout the month-long showing.
A large majority of Alazraki’s work centers around families, specifically Latinx families. When asked about her prime inspiration, she replied, “It’s always about Latinx immigrants and their families.” Even using her children as references for some subjects, we see how deeply Alazraki values the opportunity to represent her culture, going internally to share the diversity of Latinx culture. “Family is where my true wealth lies; it's the foundation for my art.”
The subjects have never changed; however, we see her use of brighter pigments in contrast to the duller backgrounds to highlight her issues. Tables symbolize family time, the members joining together in warm settings. One signature of Alazraki’s is the bright tablecloths featured in each piece. When describing the process behind creating the tablecloths, the methods evolved considerably. Starting from mixed media painting on fabric tablecloths, Alazraki went to printing the pattern on the canvas and painting over the print; her current method is painting the design without reference in an abstract form. “It lends itself to a nice composition, and it’s fascinating. But, of course, it helps to do abstract work,” she states when reflecting on her current process.
Despite being so detailed, Alazraki approaches each work with freedom, not knowing where the brush will take her. One of her biggest thrills is jumping in and not overthinking the process of capturing the painting. Not planning ahead of time gives Alazraki the freedom to change things around. However, she says her paintings will sometimes undergo last-minute changes.
Alazraki moves with confidence and humility for her craft. With a deep understanding of each role played in the art world, she recognizes that hers to maintain the integrity of her works. She shows up determined to tell the stories of her people on the canvas. While many eyes are on her future results, Alazraki focuses on her true love – La Familia – and art.
