Alicia Rodriguez Alvisa
Alicia Rodriguez Alvisa is a Cuban visual artista, currently based in Boston, MA. Alicia is a BFA candidate at The School of The Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, with an expected graduation date of 2018. She is the recipient of the Springborn Fellowship and The Yousuf Karsh Prize in Photography in 2017.
Her photography work has been exhibited throughout the Boston area at AREA Gallery, Bromfield Gallery and three consecutive Medal Award Galas at the MFA, Boston; her work has been exhibited internationally in Sanlang Art Dimension, China, The Auckland Festival of Photography, New Zealand and, in her home country, Cuba, as part of the Biennale of Havana, in 2016. She has performed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Gallery Kayafas, Boston and The University of Ohio.
Her ongoing performances & public interventions include her series of performances I Can Look Strong, I am Strong, in which she becomes "Strong Arm," a genderless bodybuilder who talks about issues of gender, identity and race in the contemporary art world while lifting weights and wearing high heels.
Artist Statement: Alicia Rodriguez Alvisa explores topics of identity, gender and race in art through photography, video-performance, and performance. Her work investigates the actions that live in the liminal space between what is controllable and uncontrollable, enjoyable and unpleasant, funny and serious. Drawing from conceptualism, feminism, and body culture, she uses her own body to create narratives that examine human’s capability to cope with systems of power. These narratives speak to the importance of the cycle of growth, knowledge, physical and mental strength, that battle the constant struggle of the women, LGBTQ, and POC experience throughout their lives. Drifting away from the sexual and sexualized femme fatale, she shares her experiences to contemplate histories of representation, inner battles, insecurities, and the acts to overcome them.