IN HIS RECENT WORK, AN ARGENTINIAN-BORN, NEW YORK-BASED ARTIST WHO LIVED THROUGH DICTATORSHIP IN THE PAST FEELS THE UNEASE OF THE CURRENT MOMENT
Published on May 23, 2025
by Edward M. Gómez, with Alejandro Caiazza
Alejandro Caiazza, who was born in Argentina in 1972, is a New York-based artist who grew up in Venezuela, where he attended a Jesuit high school in a town in the eastern part of the country, on the south bank of the Orinoco River. Later, he studied at José María Vargas University in Caracas, where he earned an undergraduate degree in architecture and fine art. He presented a first exhibition of his work as a visual artist in Venezuela before moving to Paris, where he was based for ten years.
During his time in France, Caiazza continued developing his art-making techniques as his professional career progressed; in Paris, he showed his work at Marie Kawazu and Bruno Maison’s Satellite Galerie. Today, in New York, he is represented by Van Der Plas Gallery, which is located in Manhattan’s Lower East Side district.
Some of Caiazza’s recent works allude to or directly refer to various aspects of our current, dystopian-feeling times. Here, we publish a selection of the artist’s mixed-media creations, which he has shared with us.
Caiazza told brutjournal, “I work alone, dedicating myself exclusively to my art. My paintings speak of daily life or about love, madness, and death, like the stories of Horacio Quiroga.” The artist was referring to the Uruguayan playwright, poet, and short story writer Horacio Silvestre Quiroga Forteza (1878–1937), whose story collection Cuentos de amor, de locura, y de muerte (Stories of Love, Madness, and Death) was first published in 1917.
Caiazza, who makes paintings, stickers, and street art, added that, sometimes, his work “touches on politics.” He noted that, in New York, he has teamed up with Joe Bloch, another artist from Brooklyn, with whom he has presented collaboratively produced works at the DUMBO Arts Festival and at open-studio events. Caiazza said, “At the moment, Joe and I are working on another collaboration for an exhibition that will take place at Usagi, a gallery in Brooklyn.”
About his art, Caiazza observed, “My painting is generally raw, with textures, collages, and found objects. [It has referred to] political issues, migration, and desperation, especially these days, when racism toward Latinos has increased or has shown itself more clearly in this regrettable climate of hatred and division that has been generated by the current, authoritarian politics. I experienced [such politics] in Venezuela under Hugo Chávez [1954-2013] and I recognize them in our current ruler.”
With its vibrant, expressionist energy, bold palettes, and gentle but punchy sense of humor, Caiazza’s paintings refer to human relations in general and, with regard to the character and atmosphere of the present moment, hint — or more than hint — at certain patterns of human behavior that find expression in political relationships and attitudes.
The artist shared a portfolio of some of his works with us, along with his comments about them.
About “The Fun House” (2025), above, Caiazza explained, “This piece was inspired by a recent BBC News article about how the uninhabited Heard Island and McDonald Islands [, an Australian external territory in Antarctica,] ended up on Trump’s tariffs list. The circus-like fairground awnings and star-spangled banners, and the characters or leaders [depicted] appear to be at a fair, where we don’t know just how serious what’s going on might be.”
“I don’t know what the penguins [who populate those Antarctic islands] did to Trump,” Caiazza mused. About his painting’s title, he said, “Is the White House an amusement-park fun house?”
About “White Men Can’t Jump” (2025), above, Caiazza said, “At first glance, this piece appears simple and easy but it is more complex than it seems. Besides having a special energy, for me it is about personal improvement, having new challenges or dreams, and going in search of them and jumping as high as possible to reach them.”
“In this painting, you can see a short, chubby, one-legged character with clothes that are not suitable: he’s wearing a jacket and a tie. Everything seems to be against him, yet he is about to dunk the ball in the basket. On the other hand and by chance, at the same time, this character has an air of the current U.S. government leader. Will he be up to it and be able to dunk the ball — that is to say, to do a good job in the government house? What kind of leader are we? [Here, shifting subjects, Caiazza appears to be referring to the status of the United States on the world stage.] Are we trying hard enough — or is it all a game?”
About “Red Balloon” (2024), a mixed-media work, above, which incorporates various found objects, Caiazza recalled that, one day, he found a sticker saying “DO NOT PET,” which appears in this composition.
He said, “I found it lying in the street, like several of the materials that can be seen in various paintings of mine. I like the idea that several objects that were created for different purposes can form a body and a language. That is why I use textiles, ropes, and found objects that also speak specifically about the city and its inhabitants.”
In “Bosomm Bodies” (2024), above, whose title appears to be an inadvertent play on the phrase “bosom buddies,” Caiazza portrays two figures, one of which sports an unusual hairstyle or headdress and whose arms and hands are outlined in thick, dark yarn. The duo is locked in a tight embrace, but why? Who are they?
About this mixed-media painting, Caiazza said, “This work refers to many things — to being uprooted, to living in exile, and to meetings between friends or lovers who, for whatever reasons, have been separated and are now living in different countries, having to live in different cultures and languages and who meet again. This is an experience that many migrants have had.”
About the painting “Better Together” (2025), which appears toward the top of this page, Caiazza noted, “This work feels agitated and vibrant. It refers to relationships, couples, or simply friends who complement each other. It also speaks of a spirit of spring. You see an arm or arms that appear to be parts of an amusement-park carousel. It speaks of a union. If you look at the two characters, one appears to be much colder and materialistic, with [his or her] jewels, while the other is more organic, closer to the emotions. […] This work also speaks about the adventure of a union of two individuals despite their differences.”