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<\/a>As a self-taught artist, Andrew Alba says he’s able to create works “outside the constraining expectations that contemporary artists educated within the academy often face.” That hasn’t kept the artist out of official art institutions, however. He’s\u00a0halfway through a year-long\u00a0residency at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, a program that offers free studio space at the museum and a solo show inside the museum at the end of the residency. “I am excited about it because it will be my first museum show but I will also have the chance to work with the floor space for installation and sculpture ideas,” says the Salt Lake City native. “I have always wanted to play around in the 3D world more but have never had the opportunity to exhibit the work until now. I’m excited to see what becomes of this and how it will relate to the paintings.”<\/p>\nA descendant of Mexican migrant workers, Alba grew up in a mixed race family and frequently uses images that reflect his experience in his works, which exist somewhere between abstraction and neo-expressionism.<\/p>\n
Something else Alba is working on in 2019 is being a father. His daughter is 10 months old. “Naturally, being a parent has affected all levels of my life, and it has been interesting to see what it has done for my art. Now, life in general is more intense and tangible, including the process in the studio. I’m still discovery how becoming a parent has affected the process but what I can say is that it feels more intense, direct and loud.”<\/p>\n