Sold for $31,500

The Venezuelan artist, born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga—with the first letter of each name becoming D.O.P.A—immigrated to the United States when he was only 24. He has performed or exhibited at several institutions such as Whitney Museum in New York, The Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, and the Kemper Art Museum in Kansas City. Many of his works comment on socio-political issues, particularly in his native Venezuela, such as his most recent solo show at GAVLAK Palm Beach: Jose Alvarez (D.O.P.A.): Elegy for the Venezuelan Exile in 2022. Nevertheless, without words, figures, or references specific to one culture, this work, Constantly Expanding #2 (The Damask Rose Remix) (2008), is purposefully universal in its impact.

Alvarez uses media and references that are common among various world-wide rituals such as porcupine quills, crystals, and feathers to act as shaman—putting the viewer into a trace. Featuring a mica-coated board that provides a sheen to the entire surface, the work thus enacts a different, performative experience upon each review. The horizontal orientation of the smoothly transitioning color palette of vibrant reds and yellow tempered with cooling purples contrasts with the vertical flow of the psychedelic shapes and swirls that stream down the work’s surface. These linear dances—order within the chaos—interact with the mica-shimmering surface to create the impression of constant falling—an illusion of gently raining forms that capture the viewer.