Growing up, Lisa Alonzo dreamed about one day becoming a veterinarian, librarian or cake decorator. Unbeknownst to her younger self, she would instead go on to become an artist.
Although she has since traded cake for canvas and frosting for acrylic paint, much of the methodology for Alonzo’s works of art mirrors that of a cake decorator. Using her own variation of the impasto technique, she begins her confectionary-like creations by applying acrylic paint to panel through a pastry piping bag. She then builds up the work, layer upon layer, color upon color. Hand-mixing her paint to create the perfect shade, each batch is a one-of-a-kind creation. Because of this, Alonzo generally has two to three works “baking” at the same time. The result? A highly detailed, scrumptious array of dots and swirls that are good enough (but not safe) to eat. 
JFK and 3 Machines, acrylic and molding paste on Plexiglas suspended over panel, 30 x 40 x 3"In Cool World—now on view at The Space in Alameda, California—Alonzo takes her creations one step further by making elaborate micro-sets out of her pipings, LEGOs and vintage toys. Both a homage to the 1992 film of the same name—in which Brad Pitt’s character Frank Harris is transported into a cartoon realm—and a celebration of the other-worldly, the series calls viewers to do a double take…literally and metaphorically.
“What I’m really interested in is the onslaught of information that we’re fed all the time,” she says. “The work is about how we decipher what’s real and what’s an illusion.”
Simulation 45, acrylic and molding paste on Plexiglas mounted on panel, 40 x 40"This is explored in works such as Simulation 45, which depicts a LEGO model of President Donald Trump and E.T. riding horses through a “psychedelic,” frosting-filled land. “I wanted to use an absurd scene to express that Trump in the MAGA hat is part of our pop culture now, without being overtly political,” Alonzo explains. 
Detail of Waste/RepetitionAnother creation, JFK and 3 Machines, is a double entendre—both paying tribute to Wayne Thiebaud’s Three Machines and containing hidden text pulled from additional documents about the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, which were released in 2018.
“Specifically for the pieces I built sets for, I was really trying to play with distance—placing small dots in the background, then making the foreground really thick and chunky, which plays with perspective,” Alonzo elaborates “…I want people to really think about if what they’re seeing is real.”
Cool World will remain on view at through March 1.
The Space • 2319 Santa Clara Avenue, Suite B • Alameda, CA 94501 • www.thespacebythebay.com
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