Armando Alleyne: A Few of My Favorites

A Few of My Favorites is the first collection of works by Armando Alleyne. It has painted and pasted interpretations of jazz musicians, singers Afro-Latin, boxers, but also members of his family and knowledge. Alongside his incessant practice of painting, portraits of black icons, Alleyne leaves elements of his lived experience take shape in his work. Series such as Shelter Blues illustrate her direct experience of homelessness. Another series, Maria's Song, summons a pantheon of religious symbols to pay tribute to the sister he lost in cause of AIDS. There are also erotic paintings that the artist has made from magazine advertisements and models that he put in scene. Renouncing neither the sensual nor the political, the set of paintings d'Alleyne tells how we are determined by our city and how we we can look for the tools to heal there. The works are presented alongside of a series of snapshots and personal anecdotes that evoke the works sold and people who are no longer with us.