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Alejandro Cardenas

Alejandro Cardenas (born 1977, Santiago, Chile) is a contemporary artist whose paintings and sculptures envision a post-human world where human forms and their environment exist in harmony and unity. Drawing inspiration from Surrealism, science fiction, and magical realism, Cardenas creates surreal, meticulously composed scenes featuring polished, gridded interiors inhabited by angular, faceless figures. His signature humanoids—narrow, wire-frame silhouettes adorned with colorful zigzag patterns—appear calmly reclining, sitting, or standing within minimalist architectural settings. Though these figures lack traditional sensory organs, they convey emotion through posture and gesture, creating a complex spectrum of suggested feelings and psychological presence.

Cardenas earned his BFA from the Cooper Union School of Art in 2000. Before dedicating himself fully to studio painting, he had a successful career as a multimedia artist, working across illustration, graphic design, and videography. For over a decade, he served as lead textile designer and art director for the influential fashion label Proenza Schouler. He was also a founding member of Lansing-Dreiden, a New York-based transdisciplinary art collective that produced musical albums, a literary journal, and multimedia artworks. His work in both art and design has been reviewed in prominent publications including The New York TimesVogue, and AnOther Magazine.

Alejandro Cardenas currently lives and works in upstate New York, continuing to develop his unique vision of post-human figuration and surreal, architecturally informed worlds.

  • Biography

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  • Bibliography

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Selected artworks

  • Alejandro Cardenas,                                      The tail of If, 2020

    Alejandro Cardenas The tail of If, 2020

    Acrylic on canvas
    121.9 x 91.4 cm
    48 x 36 in

  • Alejandro Cardenas,                                      The Visitor, 2022

    Alejandro Cardenas The Visitor, 2022

    Patinated Bronze, Marble & Metal hardware

    182 x 64 x 37 cm
    71 1/2 x 25 x 14 1/2 in

    Edition 1/3

  • Alejandro Cardenas,                                      Hermes delivers the order of Zeus, 2022

    Alejandro Cardenas Hermes delivers the order of Zeus, 2022

    Acrylic on canvas
    127 x 177.8 cm
    50 x 70 in

  • Alejandro Cardenas,                                      The Golden Bird , 2022

    Alejandro Cardenas The Golden Bird , 2022

    147.3 x 180.3 cm 
    58 x 71 in

  • Alejandro Cardenas,                                      Waiting Room, 2022

    Alejandro Cardenas Waiting Room, 2022

    151.8 x 228 cm (framed)
    59 3/4 x 89 3/4 in (framed)

    139.7 x 215.9 cm
    55 x 85 in

  • Alejandro Cardenas,                                      Calypso, 2022

    Alejandro Cardenas Calypso, 2022

    Bronze, plinth in wood
    120 x 128 x 48 cm
    47 1/2 x 50 1/2 x 19 in
    Edition of 3 + 2 APs

Selected press