Alex “Fdez” Fernández
Semifinalist
Alex “FDEZ” Fernández (born 1978, New York, NY; lives Bronx, NY) has a BFA and an MA from City College of New York, NY. His work has been exhibited at the Quinlan Visual Arts Center, Gainesville, GA; Boricua College Art Gallery, Fordham University and Taller Boricua, both New York; Cultural Arts Building Art Gallery, University of North Carolina, Wilmington; and Riverfront Art Gallery and Warburton Galerie, both Yonkers, NY; as well as Orégano Salvaje Taller-Galería, Valapraíso, Chile; China Printmaking Museum, Guanlan; Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; Tartu Art House, Estonia; Inbe Art Space, Yoshinogawa City, Japan; Cultural and Information Center Bitola, North Macedonia; Maria Curie-Skłodowska University Art Gallery, Lublin, Poland; Douro Museum, Alijó, Portugal; Centro de Arte Faro Cabo Mayor, Cantabria, Spain; and the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung, among others. His work is held in various collections including the Library of Congress, Washington, DC; as well as the Tartu Art House; Inbe Art Space; Centro de Arte Faro Cabo Mayor de Santander, Cantabria, Spain; and Grenchen Art Center, Grenchen, Switzerland. Fernández was awarded the 2023 Bronx Recognizes its Own (BRIO) grant from the Bronx Council of the Arts; was a finalist for The International Biennial Print Exhibit: 2022 R.O.C at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Taichung; and was a resident at Guanlan Original Printmaking Base in Shenzhen, China. He is currently a Space to Connect artist for ChaShaMa, Bronx, NY and an art educator at Morris Academy for Collaborative Studies, Bronx.
Statement from the Artist:
My artwork utilizes allegory, sarcasm, symbolism and striking imagery to delve into themes of autobiography, cultural critique, religion and socio-political discourse. Rather than adopting a definitive stance, I seek to provoke thought and inquiry about society, reflecting on the profound shifts in political and social rhetoric of the 21st century. By conceptualizing a dynamic record of human injustices and social disparities through printmaking and other mediums, I aim to evoke an emotional response from viewers, prompting them to engage with the complex realities he portrays.