Menu
The New Contemporary Art Magazine

Alexis Diaz’s Surreal Murals Explore Metamorphosis

Over the past several years, Puerto Rican-born street artist Alexis Diaz has built an international presence, with giant murals covering everywhere from the side of a crumbling building in Bratislava, Slovakia to a makeshift billboard in the middle of the Arizona desert. The artist is known for his chimerical and dreamlike depictions of animals in a state of metamorphosis. Diaz often works collectively with friend and fellow street artist Juan Fernandez; when collaborating together, the group calls themselves “La Pandilla” (or “The Gang”). Both Diaz’s solo work and that of La Pandilla demonstrate a deep interest in transfiguration; animals morph into one another, human hands and skulls become wings and snail shells and creatures are transformed into ships and submarines to be used for the transport of other animal subjects. Diaz’s signature style is the use of tiny black brushstrokes on white to render his creatures, making them look like highly-detailed pen-and-ink drawings. These ‘drawings’ stand out all the more for being set against their bright teal, blue, and sunset-colored backdrops.

Over the past several years, Puerto Rican-born street artist Alexis Diaz has built an international presence, with giant murals covering everywhere from the side of a crumbling building in Bratislava, Slovakia to a makeshift billboard in the middle of the Arizona desert. The artist is known for his chimerical and dreamlike depictions of animals in a state of metamorphosis. Diaz often works collectively with friend and fellow street artist Juan Fernandez; when collaborating together, the group calls themselves “La Pandilla” (or “The Gang”). Both Diaz’s solo work and that of La Pandilla demonstrate a deep interest in transfiguration; animals morph into one another, human hands and skulls become wings and snail shells and creatures are transformed into ships and submarines to be used for the transport of other animal subjects. Diaz’s signature style is the use of tiny black brushstrokes on white to render his creatures, making them look like highly-detailed pen-and-ink drawings. These ‘drawings’ stand out all the more for being set against their bright teal, blue, and sunset-colored backdrops.

Bratislava, Slovakia. June 2013.

Miami, FL. December 2013.

Vienna, Austria. June 2013.


Las Vegas, NV. October 2013.


Queretaro, Mexico. September 2013.

Museo de Arte Contemporaneo. Puerto Rico. October 2012.


Los Angeles. February 2013.

Meta
Topics
Share
Facebook
Reddit
Pinterest
Email
Related Articles
We live in strange times and artists Michael Kerbow and Mike Davis both have something in common: they use surrealism and time travel to address modern and existential issues. Click above to read the Hi-Fructose exclusive interviews with painters Mike Davis and Michael Kerbow about their respective solo showings.
Artist and animation director Joe Vaux paints what he likes. His personal work is teeming with impish demons. His cheerful hellscapes are populated with lost souls, sharp toothed monstrosities, and swarms of wrong-doers. And yet, there’s an innocence to all of this. Click to read the Hi-Fructose exclusive interview with Joe Vaux.
Vibrant and bold, Oscar Joyo’s latest body of work which was exhibited at Thinkspace Projects in Los Angeles, vibrates the retina; while delving into his childhood memories childhood in Malawi and themes of Afrofuturism.
Something interesting happens when when artists like Alan and Carolynda Macdonald, who have the painting fundamentals mastered, decide to subvert expectations and perplex a viewers expectations conceptually. Click to read the Hi-Fructose exclusive interview.

Subscribe to the Hi-Fructose Mailing List