JAMES ESTRADA
b. 1991, Jackson Heights, Queens, NYC.
Currently living and dreaming in Kalamazoo, MI.
I am a painter and 2D object-maker who uses religious icons, consumer objects, historical and scientific forms to tell stories about dreams, family histories, and imagined futures. In addition to tracing, translating and iterating on these forms, my research process relies on building conversational intimacy with strangers, family members, and other artists through interviews, micro-commissions, collaborative social programming, and the distribution of zines. My subjects often stem from Colombian-American identity and history, but I am more broadly concerned with how sacred objects, dreams, migration, and technology affect our sense of place and feelings of belonging.
