Andrew Alba – Inheritance
Material Contemporary
South Salt Lake, UT
March 1, 2024
Andrew Alba doesn’t trust art that’s too pretty.
That’s part of why he had to unlearn so much of what he knew about drawing. And he wanted to move away from just showing what he could do. Instead, he aims to make marks that contribute to the world and might even change it.
The result is a collection of unsettling works focused on feelings and histories that we, as humans and as individuals, have inherited. The paintings and drawings feature suspicious characters, repeating animals, and liminal backgrounds. All of the artworks unfold onto one another in two small gallery spaces at Material Contemporary in South Salt Lake. I was there for the opening of the show and heard Alba speak about his work.
The style feels somewhat childish, especially the streaky graphite drawings, but still weighty and important. Alba displays the world as he sees it, often dark, surprisingly simple, and cyclical.
In this exhibition, the paintings and drawings contrast well with one another, most strikingly in color. The paintings offer rich pastel pinks, swirling light blues, and deep navies as backgrounds. The drawings are earthier in tone, not least because Alba draws on old, used drop cloths instead of canvas. He tries to bring the materials of the worker into fancy art spaces.
Despite these contrasts in color and material, some of the drawings and paintings are hung right next to each other as if they are one piece. One such pairing is “Braceros” and “American History”. On the right, Alba draws two brown pickups with mounted American flags on a splotchy drop cloth, wondering aloud about how we got to this point in time. On the left, a group of braceros set against a blue backdrop stare suspiciously across to the pickups, at all once jealous, worried, and intrigued. Alba insisted in his talk that the pairings could’ve hung themselves. If so, I’m impressed by their ingenuity and knowledge of American labor history.
“Two Tables One Table” is by far my favorite piece in the collection. Appearing on a larger canvas than most of the other work displayed, two tables, almost identical in their appearance, stand slightly offset in a dirty light pink kitchen space. A female character looms in three places, looking at the tables rather confused. One has an apple, a cake with candles, a matchbox, and a couple other objects resting on top. On the other, the cake and matchbox have disappeared and someone has taken a bite out of the apple. All else is the same.
To me, it captured that feeling of trying to remember something just as it was but not getting it quite right. Was the table this way or that way? The threatening presence of a large kitchen knife on the table(s) makes me wonder if the memory might be materially important to some present-day murder case. It’s a rich mystery.
Alba said he doesn’t understand many of his works, either. He did call this one his first about quantum physics, generating some giggles from the tightly-packed room.
The artist plays a lot with repetition in this show but seems to use it for two alternate purposes. In “Two Tables One Table”, both the two tables and the three women seem to be distinct versions of the same things at different times. That’s perhaps a reminder that we don’t just inherit trauma and tradition from our ancestors but we receive some from past selves, too. In other works, Alba seems to keep the meaning of the repetition a bit simpler. When talking about “Swans”, he set the drawing firmly in opposition to much of his work, saying he didn’t just want to create dark images. He highlighted the swans as fluffy, still, and peaceful. The resulting flock really hammers those qualities home for the onlooker due their repetition in form.
Those tranquil birds fly in the opposite direction than their dead counterparts in “Rotten Inheritance”. That painting dazzles in color with a murky light blue background and splotchy pinkish blood erupting from the broken necks of its swans. Here, the multiple falling fowl leave a bitter, rotten taste in your mouth. It speaks of a deep disappointment.
I promise you won’t leave with that same feeling about the art itself though. You’re much more likely to leave turning over the works over mind as you try to solve their little mysteries. You can see the show from 6 – 8 p.m. on March 15, 6 – 9 p.m. on April 19, and by appointment.
What’s next for Alba and Material Contemporary: Alba and two other artists are a part of an new zine release by BROADSHEET at Material on March 21 at 6 p.m.
