Inspired by: Emil Alzamora

Peru, 1975 - Sculptor

“I love making and exploring both form and reactivity. Not just how something ends up looking, but how it got to look that way. Chemical and physical reactions fascinate me.”
—Emil Alzamora

I first fell upon the beautifully haunted sculptures of Emil Alzamora several years ago and was immediately transfixed with his creations. His pieces resonated with me differently from most sculpture art, almost as if they were created based upon exact feelings I had written on a piece of paper. As a sufferer often debilitating anxiety, I saw so much of myself in many of his artworks; bold physical recreations of my inner thoughts. I admit, I’m not fluent in the language of sculpting however I’ve begun to understand it a little better, as a medium, as of late.

From an interview with Photobook Magazine —

Q. How did you become interested in art?

A. Many of my immediate family were and still are working artists. It was perfectly natural to draw and paint and play with clay from the time I could hold a pencil. Drawing was the first thing I would think about when I woke up all through my childhood, especially on weekends when I didn't have to wake up at 530 am to go to school. I took extra art classes in high school and learned more about classical art and eventually dived headfirst into sculpture at Florida State University, which had great teachers and a full bronze casting foundry as well as a large capacity kiln and ceramic department.

“The energy source to propel you should be bigger than yourself. In other words, fame, recognition, admiration, likes, money, edginess should not be the main source of motivation. This is a fleeting thing.  Advancing consciousness, expanding human perception and awareness, building emotional connections, that’s the stuff. It’s a calling that pulls at me even while I sleep, like a glowing thread that tugs and tugs no matter where I am or what I am doing.” — Emil

Often ambiguous in nature, Emil’s artwork allows people to identify with a piece in a unique way. Without the constructs of a gender, the role of the artwork is universal and even immortal. Here’s an excerpt from an interview with White Hot Magazine:

Q: Are these beings immortal? 

A: Part of me likes to think they are. I love bronze and other obdurate materials for their physical longevity. I feel this is a way of "manifesting the deathless self" to quote my ever-questing brother. But put me aside, yes. I generously think of them as mythological and in a sense immortal. They represent something bigger than myself, at least I am trying very hard to do that.

I believe we will begin to see growth of this genre of art, “ambiguity,” in the coming years as the idea of gender becomes more fluid. Emil is capturing the essence of human nature and physically manifesting that into sculptures.

To learn more, and view more artwork, please visit Emil’s website & Instagram