OTTO
Alejandro Martín Moreno Alonso (a.k.a “OTTO”) is a young, emerging artist. Born in Mexico City in 2000, his art work is a mixture of Bauhaus style and modern architecture with colorful lines and curves full of life. In 2016, Otto tried his hand at producing his first piece made entirely of metal. That was the moment he realized he wanted to be a sculptor. His sculptures are a combination of the same piece reproduced several times, creating a three-dimensional figure. Constantly looking for inspiration, sculpting gave Otto the ability to express himself creatively. His sculptures represent the care and love he has for his work and he views his art pieces as members of his family. He even considers his sculptures his kids; made by him and, at the same time, giving back a projection of his inner self.
Moreover, he’s a young artist who is discovering his own limitations through a poetic and empirical critique which reaches the most basic elements of organic composition, by casting the the underlying limits of Modern Art and Contemporary Sculpture. Most of his visual narrative happens to be outstandingly emotional, dealing with various notions like harmony, balance, symmetry, and the simplicity of shape in monochromatic color.He creates limited quantity sculptures of 5 and 2 APs, per color, per scale.
Otto understands shapes which manifest in space through a fragile erotism. His artworks in medium and large format are sculptorical monochromes which allude to an emotional minimalism, sustained in varied references , raging from the most obvious: Mexican Emotional Architecture, early Suprematism, Russian Constructivism, 1960s Minimalism and Sacred Geometry. We can also see the influence of various artists like Josef Albers (concerning his theory of color), and the fragmentation of perspective in space-time in relation to Cubism, the likes of Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso and Juan Gris. Other strong and precise influences vary from an array of heavyweights such as: Luis Barragán, Mathias Goeritz, Donald Judd, Frank Stella, Kazimir Malevich, Walter Gropius, Yves Klein and Robert Smithson.“
Education:
2020
BFA Fine Art, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California
2018
Welding and Metal Structures in CMIC, Mexico City, Mexico
2017
Sculpture course, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Grants:
2020
Art Center 100 scholarship, Pasadena, California
Solo Exhibitions:
2025
El Mundo Se Construye, Salón ACME No.12, Proyectos Púbicos, Mexico City, Mexico
2024
Descansar se ha vuelto una ilusión, Museo Metropolitano de Monterrey, Mexico
2023
SelfDrivingFreedom, Hutto-Patterson Exhibition Hall, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California
2019
Santikos Art in the Garden, Gallery Art Legacy, San Antonio, Texas
Group Exhibitions:
2024
Infinite Unfolding, KÖNIG Galerie, Mexico City, Mexico
Salón ACME No.11, Proyectos Púbicos, Mexico City, Mexico
Here is to us, Art House, Mexico City, Mexico
2022
Fronteras Invisibles, Consigna, Mexico City, Mexico.
2021
35×35 Bicentennial, Mexican Embassy, Los Angeles, California
Public Sculpture and Projects:
2024
Dodecaedro, San Antonio Botanical Garden, San Antonio, Texas
Dodecaedro, Banyan Tree Valle, Guadalupe Valley, Ensenada
2020
Cubos para Fibonacci, Bank Actinver, Mexico City, Mexico
Hashtag Naranja, Mcnay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas
Mi compa, Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, Winchester, Virginia
2019
Armonia Geometrica, Industrial Club, Mexico City, Mexico
Residencies:
2024
Proyecto-H, Mexico City, Mexico
Cobertizo, Jilotepec, Mexico
Talks and Performances:
2019
SAY SI: Enjoying your practice while not starving in the process: Entrepreneurial skills in art for the XXI century, San Antonio, Texas.
I Was Trying to Be an Entrepreneur and Became an Artist,, TedX event with Palo Alto Community College, San Antonio, Texas.
Auctions:
2024
Arte Vivo Auction, Fundación México Vivo, Mexico City, Mexico
Iluminarte, Subasta por el autismo. Mexico City, Mexico
2023
Arte Vivo Auction, Fundación México Vivo, Mexico City, Mexico
Iluminarte, Subasta por el autismo. Mexico City, Mexico
2022
Arte Vivo Auction, Fundación México Vivo, Mexico City, Mexico
Iluminarte, Subasta por el autismo. Mexico City, Mexico
2021
Arte Vivo Auction, Fundación México Vivo, Mexico City, Mexico