Alonsa Guevara

 

Fruit is everywhere and has been present as an essential part of evolution and as symbols throughout human history. I decided to paint the fruits cut open, revealing their insides, recreating, and depicting all the incredible patterns, seeds, and infinite information they carry, which many people take for granted. Each fruit will bring memories of its smell, the places where it was seen or tasted for the first time, or even the complex emotions that come attached to the feeling of enjoying the fruits of nature.

– Alonsa Guevara

Alonsa Guevara spent her childhood in Ecuadorian rainforests surrounded by tropical landscapes and nearby agriculture, an experience of nature that continues to influence her artistic practice. Her ongoing series, Fruit Portraits, showcases a variety of fruits and vegetables and fungi. Subjects are often depicted as cut open; small brushstrokes of oil, pigments, and resins emulate the organic juices and fibers of natural elements.  The collection includes over a hundred paintings of various sizes, celebrating desire, fecundity, and fertility. The work is symbolic of the coexistence of life and decay, providing a universal perspective as it investigates the vital connection between nature, humans, and spirituality.

Based in Los Angeles, Alonsa Guevara holds an MFA in painting from the New York Academy of Art, and a BFA from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Her paintings, sculptures, and installations explore questions of womanhood, identity, and belonging while celebrating the connection between humankind and nature. Guevara has been awarded numerous grants and residencies including Tashkeel Art Residency in Dubai; the Eric Fischl ’66 Artist-in-Residence Teaching Program at WNA, USA; the Academy's Fellowship award in 2015; and the Elizabeth Greenshields Grant. Guevara's work has been published in Forbes Magazine, Time Out NYC, VICE, and The National News UAE, among others. She has exhibited internationally, including China, the UAE, Mexico, Denmark, Argentina, and Chile. 

Alonsa Guevara, Selections from Fruit Portraits, 2022 – 2023, Oil and wood on panel, 20 cm to 90 cm diameter, Courtesy of the artist and Anna Zorina Gallery, New York