Welcome to Andy Álvarez's
Portfolio
Andy Álvarez is a multidisciplinary Puerto Rican artist whose practice mainly focuses on printmaking, specifically lithography, screenprinting and relief printing with wood and linoleum. However, Álvarez also indulges in other mediums like photography, welding, sculpture, ceramics, drawing, and pastel painting. Graduated from University of North Carolina Wilmington with a B.A. in Studio Art, Álvarez develops a body of work that, regardless of medium, remains deeply engaged with themes connected to Puerto Rico.Their work is grounded in an aesthetic and conceptual inquiry that examines the complexities of the Puerto Rican experience, navigating between the island’s natural beauty and its urban chaos, and evoking emotions tied to nostalgia, politics, identity, and culture. Through techniques from different mediums, the artist constructs images rich in meaning that function as spaces for reflection on collective memory and the insular experience. Their work has been exhibited in various cultural institutions across North Carolina, including Fried Fruit Gallery, ACME Art Studios, Cameron Art Museum, and the Greenville Museum of Art.
Andy Álvarez is an artist born and raised in Puerto Rico, whose practice centers primarily on printmaking techniques such as screen printing, woodcut, and lithography. While he also works in other visual media, his approach tends toward experimentation, using diverse material processes to explore the sensory, emotional, and physical experience of inhabiting Puerto Rico.
The island itself presents an unavoidable visual landscape: a vibrant wealth of flora and fauna exists alongside urban disarray. Daily life unfolds amid this tension, shaped by decaying structures left unrepaired since Hurricane María in 2017, poorly installed sewage systems, cracked sidewalks, scattered debris, and neglected public spaces. Puerto Rico’s environment becomes a constant negotiation between beauty and instability—between resilience and erosion.
In response to this reality, Álvarez assumes the artistic responsibility of interpreting the full experience of living on the island: a life suspended in the balance between nature and architecture, between growth and collapse. His work pays close attention to the subtle ways that Puerto Rican architecture reflects a relationship with the natural world. Ornamental iron gates, for example, frequently bear floral motifs, butterflies, arches, and other organic forms—expressions of life woven into the built environment.
Through printmaking, Álvarez juxtaposes personal memories of life in Puerto Rico with the complex emotions that come from living in the United States—where the familiar chaos is suddenly distant. His work becomes a bridge between two geographies, two timelines, and two emotional landscapes, offering a meditation on belonging, displacement, and resilience.
Contact Now
For inquiries, commissions, or to explore more of Andy Alvarez’s paintings, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Andy values opportunities to connect with collectors, galleries, and art enthusiasts who share an appreciation for contemporary painting and creative expression. Whether you’re interested in exhibitions, custom work, or artistic collaborations, Andy looks forward to hearing from you.