John Alita
Riven, 2022
Silk thread, wire, acrylic 12" x 12"
We are being driven apart as a nation. The loudest voices at the fringes receive outsized attention. Our future hangs in the balance. The shared vision of our nation is a broken mirror. We must search the shards to see our responsibility and reflect on what we can do, indivdually, to reclaim unity.
John Alita
Oyster, 2015
Silk thread, wire 8 in x 8 in
I love the idea of something valuable that is hidden in something ostensibly unremarkable. Looking closer, the unremarkable becomes the focus rather than the object of value.
John Alita
Slander, 2018
Wire, cotton thread, silk thread 10 in by 10 in
Honestly, a revenge piece. Powerlessness in the face of false statements transmutes into something creative, allowing one to maintain equanimity.
John Alita
Your Poison Only Makes Me Stronger, 2018
Canvas, silk thread 10 in x 8
I was in a difficult professional situation at the time this was made. I wanted to use it as a learning experience rather than seeing it only as painful. There is a stubbornness I wanted to explore. Transforming negativity into something positive through sheer force of will; creating boundaries that provide safety for future growth.
John Alita
The World Below, 2017
Silk, silk thread, wire 10 in x 10 in
What is on the surface is rarely indicative of what lies below. What is projected is often a construction, rendering meaning out of a variety of disparate elements.