Alejandro Villa Duran Together, Alone

Exhibition Text

Giovanni’s Room is pleased to announce “Together, Alone”, Alejandro Villa Duran’s first solo exhibition in Los Angeles, opening on November 12th through December 12, 2022.

Alejandro Villa Duran’s first solo painting show takes place in a pivotal moment for the contemporary cultural exchange between Los Angeles and Mexico City. A tale of two cities. But in Alejandro’s case, many cities; since the paintings of this show come together as vivid postcards of the memories of recent trips to USA, Europe, Mexico and pueblos that hold an important place in Alejandro's artistic oeuvre.

The paintings for this show are works of art that demand not only to be seen, but to be witnessed. To be witness of the insights, breakthroughs and inner turmoils that made the paintings emerge into the light. We finally get to experience Alejandro’s playful brushstrokes of wilderness at its full brightness.

These paintings, however, do not shy away from the tumultuous emotions Alejandro went through over the course of these trips. He arrives in Los Angeles amidst the effects of these recent experiences that changed forever how he approaches art making.

The pictorial work of Alejandro until this point was covered by a red velvet curtain and we could only see the dancing of the shadows that his dark-gray colored brushstrokes left as evidence of the choreography that took place on the canvas. 

Alejandro’s flow of consciousness in art making embraces chance as a tool in the painting process that he developed while working on this show. The paintings of his first solo exhibition are a study of color and light; how art (and us) get nurtured by the light of the sun and the moon. 

The abstract language that Alejandro developed for this body of work cannot be put into words. These paintings offer a vessel for the imagination and emotions you're willing to pour into them. 

Text written by Raúl Aguilar C.

Alejandro Villa Duran (b. 1993) was born in Guadalajara, Mexico. He currently lives and works in Mexico City, Mexico. Duran received his BA in Textile Design from Central Saint Martins, London in 2016, and his MA in Sculpture from Royal College of Art, London in 2020. His first solo exhibition was in Rudimento, Quito Ecuador (2021), and has been included in group exhibitions at Nordenhake, Mexico City (2022), Sadie Cole’s HQ, London, and Relaciones Públicas, Mexico (2021).

Together Alone 

Together alone in dreams
The earth opens 
With no words 
Holding hands
A safe space
A safe home 
Running horses
Turning ocean into foam
The dessert vast
Two suns, 
Water reflections
Hazy nights
The eclipse shakes, happenings 
Waking up to remember 
Imagination, a real pronunciation 
No words, a gift.
Universality is a color
Dream, dream, escape
Come back
We can be 
Together, Alone 
Together we can be 
Alone 
Wild hearts 
Coming back from a long ride 
All remains inside 
Secret hearts
One step at a time 
Erasing references
The fruit of a thousand colors
The mind thing, hurts
A place called hope
Grass, mountains, rivers
Buildings, houses
Streams, roads.
We are being held the sky 
Flying across the universe 
Holding together 
All floating 
The speaking silence.

- Alejandro Villa Duran