Some privately purchased artwork by one of the city's most acclaimed artists will soon be installed in a downtown building. That mosaic artist is Oscar Alvarado, and that building is Weston Urban’s 300 Main.
Alvarado’s been making public art for decades and his mosaics are all over town: The Panther at Yanaguana Gardens or his fanciful, flowing benches at The Rim.
“I am a mosaic artist. I'm a steel and concrete sculptor, and I do lots of public art,” Alvarado said.
In fact, with success his reputation precedes him. “I was approached by the designers working for Weston Urban on their new apartment building, 300 Main downtown, to make a three mosaic sculptures, which is what I proposed,” he said.
His pieces often are colorful and cheerful, with a fanciful look about them. The 300 Main building job had a slightly more subdued color scheme.
“The designers sent me a list of colors that they wanted me to work within, and I found tile, stone, porcelain, and we used lots of the artifacts that were dug up from the site because they had to go pretty deep for that 32-story building.,” Alvarado said.
He drew inspiration from the bottles and broken tableware that had been found. “Pottery, glass, metal objects, a number of things,” he said. “And then there's the — I guess they call it pirate glass, super thick bottoms of wine bottles — beautiful stuff.”
He’s 95% done with the three large pieces, and next week he’ll install the artwork at 300 Main. Given their dimensions and their weight, it’s not going to be easy.
“They're about seven feet tall by four feet wide. The sculptures I’ve made — they weigh about 800 pounds — but now I'm welding them into 200 pound steel frames, so there'll be about a half a ton each,” Alvarado said.
He thinks that those who take the effort and money to make art happen in public spaces breathe life into those spaces that they never otherwise would have.
“I think that integrating art into the built environment helps to create a unique sense of place, and that's what I'm part of. That's what I like to do,” he said.
As the old adage goes, artists suffer for their art, and he’s no exception. “My studio is un-air conditioned, and I've been working outside on this. It is challenging.”
He then pointed out a few cuts on his hands. “I'm showing you right now cuts on my hands and the Band Aids and lots of wounds over the years, but it's just blood,” he said.
Alvarado discounted the inconvenience of the heat and the little injuries that come along with cutting tile. The actual results of his efforts help cool the heat and heal the little wounds quicker.
“I think my stuff's going to be around for a long time. Why I made it, people in the future will never know, perhaps, but I sure do enjoy being leaving a legacy like I have been,” Alvarado said.
