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| From Al's Art |
INSPIRATIONS
As Alfredo Cardenas rummages through his stacks of metal, (junk to most people), he is constantly visualizing the uses for those bends, angles, and curves; ideas for his next sculpture project. From bed frames to automobile parts, garden tools to office furniture, everything has potential art value.
After working many years in graphic design, publishing, silk screen printing and teaching art, Alfredo spends his days in his Lakewood, Colorado studio dividing his time between his metal work, working in mixed media, and pastel paintings.
Cardenas is a second generation Coloradan whose grandparents were from northern New Mexico. The family name goes back to the late 17th century to a time when some of the earliest Spanish settlers came to that area. Denver native, Mr Cardenas studied at Rocky Mountain School of Art and, although he is a self taught welder, he also apprenticed under pioneer Chicano artist, Moises Sanchez, who, at the ages of 78, was still creating welded art based on Mezzo-American themes.
Alfredo, who has informally studied ancient Mexican cultures for more than three decades, developed a fascination with Aztec art because of the tribe's rich culture and its dominance in pre-columbian Mexico. Additionally, imagery from more recent Mexican history and his personal urban Mexican-American experience comprise his greatest influences in his art. "These images," he says, "are always with me. They represent my heritage. And they have a beauty and simplicity that show me great potential in my own medium-metal." It is from these sources that he draws much of his inspiration.
After working many years in graphic design, publishing, silk screen printing and teaching art, Alfredo spends his days in his Lakewood, Colorado studio dividing his time between his metal work, working in mixed media, and pastel paintings.
Cardenas is a second generation Coloradan whose grandparents were from northern New Mexico. The family name goes back to the late 17th century to a time when some of the earliest Spanish settlers came to that area. Denver native, Mr Cardenas studied at Rocky Mountain School of Art and, although he is a self taught welder, he also apprenticed under pioneer Chicano artist, Moises Sanchez, who, at the ages of 78, was still creating welded art based on Mezzo-American themes.
Alfredo, who has informally studied ancient Mexican cultures for more than three decades, developed a fascination with Aztec art because of the tribe's rich culture and its dominance in pre-columbian Mexico. Additionally, imagery from more recent Mexican history and his personal urban Mexican-American experience comprise his greatest influences in his art. "These images," he says, "are always with me. They represent my heritage. And they have a beauty and simplicity that show me great potential in my own medium-metal." It is from these sources that he draws much of his inspiration.
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