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Alexis Portilla

American, Mexican

Mexican-born New York City-based artist Alexis Portilla draws heavily on his surroundings, creating richly textured, atmospheric paintings and prints that feature characteristics commonly associated with Abstract Expressionist and Neo-Expressionist art. 

Portilla earned his BFA at Pratt Institute in 1983 and his MFA from Columbia University. He worked as a faculty instructor at Columbia teaching printmaking while maintaining his New York-based art studio. His work is held in public and corporate collections including Pepsi Co., Harvard University, Penn State University and the New York Public Library, among others, with over 250 private collectors worldwide.

Portilla’s exhibition history dates back over 20 years and covers the globe. He has had solo exhibitions at the Hollis Taggart Galleries and other galleries in New York, New Jersey, Atlanta and Hong Kong. Portilla has also participated in group exhibitions at the Grand Rapids Art Museum in Michigan, Hofstra University Museum in New York, and Monmouth Museum in New Jersey. 

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62x68” Glacier - Oil Painting

Alexis Portilla62x68” Glacier - Oil Painting

$13,500

H 62 in W 68 in D 1.5 in

62x68” Glacier - Oil Painting

By Alexis Portilla

Located in Los Angeles, CA

This is a beautiful oil painting by Alexis Portilla. Color, lines and shapes that resemble pictographs and vessels convey symbolism. Influenced by the emotion of artistic expression...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Alexis Portilla

Materials

Oil

48 x 60 in. "For Helen" oil on canvas - black and white oil painting
48 x 60 in. "For Helen" oil on canvas - black and white oil painting

48 x 60 in. "For Helen" oil on canvas - black and white oil painting

By Alexis Portilla

Located in Los Angeles, CA

This is a large monochromatic oil painting on canvas by Alexis Portilla. Color, lines and shapes that resemble pictographs and vessels convey symbolism. Vessels are a recurring theme in Portilla's work as symbolic of the potential for the ability to hold and receive. Influenced by the emotion of artistic expression in music, poetry and literature, the artist finds bold expression in color, lines and shapes that resemble pictographs, and texture. For Helen 48x60" Oil on Canvas Signed on verso Alexis Portilla was born in Mexico City in 1965, and has lived in New York since 1970. He holds an MFA from Columbia University and a BFA from Pratt Institute. His work can be found in public and corporate collections throughout the United States and abroad, including The New York Public Library, Penn State University, Harvard University, Warner Brothers Music Group, Pepsi Co., PricewaterhouseCoopers, Norwest Venture Partners, and Mikasa Corporation. In addition, his work is in hundreds of private collections in the United States, England, France, and Germany. For more than 20 years, Portilla’s work has been regularly exhibited at prominent venues throughout the United States. His work has been the subject of 10 solo exhibitions at established galleries in New York, New Jersey, Atlanta, and Hong Kong. His work has been exhibited in museum group exhibitions at the Grand Rapids Art Museum in Michigan, Hofstra University Museum in New York, and Monmouth Museum in New Jersey, as well as numerous gallery group exhibitions in New York, Miami, Chicago, Atlanta, and Philadelphia. Portilla’s work has received international press attention and has been reviewed in several publications, including Artnews. He has been a faculty instructor at Columbia University, where he taught printmaking to graduate and postgraduate students. “New York painter Alexis Portilla[’s] layered compositions deserve serious attention.” –Art Market Report, Summer 2017 “[Portilla] both builds and excavates his canvases with broad swaths of paint, textured imprints, and scrapes and scratches, layering lines over drifting expanses of rich color [...] recalling Basquiat and Twombly-lyrical paintings that hover between pure abstraction and the evocation of unknown atmospheric spaces.” –Karen Sundberg, Artsy, December 2014 “Using simple forms and creating swathes of rich texture, Alexis Portilla builds atmospheric abstract paintings that convey a sense of time having passed. Brushy areas of color suggest the indeterminacy of memory, while bold linear forms speak for the present.” Meredith Mendelsohn, Art News magazine review, Feb 2008 Alexis’s work is in public and private collections in the US and internationally. Education MFA, Columbia University (1990) BFA, Pratt Institute PUBLIC COLLECTIONS (select): Bryant University, Smithfield, RI Harvard University, Cambridge, MA The New York Public Library, New York, NY Penn State University, State College, PA (commissioned work) SELECTED PRIVATE AND CORPORATE COLLECTIONS Collection of Padma Lakshmi Mikasa Corporation, Tokyo, Japan Pepsi Co., Purchase, NY PricewaterhouseCoopers, Boston (commissioned work) Norwest Venture Partners, Palo Alto, CA Warner Brothers, New York, NY First Atlantic Capital, New York, NY Excel, Bermuda Edwards and Angell, Providence, RI Meredith and Grew, Boston, MA Farley White, Boston, MA Acadian Asset Management, Boston, MA Proskauer Rose, Boston, MA New Star Financial, Boston, MA Cross Harbor Capital, Boston, MA Weil Gotshal & Manges, Providence, RI Partner Reinsurance, Pembroke, Bermuda Hale & Dorr, Washington, DC Bingham Dana & Gould, Boston, MA Total System Services, Columbus, OH Biogen Inc., Cambridge, MA Millennia, Boston, MA Renaissance Worldwide, Waltham, MA Goodwin Proctor & Hoar, Boston, MA and New York, NY X.L. Pembroke, Bermuda Odyssey America RE, New York, NY Greystone Realty Corp., Westport, CT Limerock Partners, Westport, CT Michael Page...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Alexis Portilla

Materials

Canvas, Oil

72 x 96 in / 6 x 8 ft "Three of Us" Oil on Canvas (black white minimalist oil)
72 x 96 in / 6 x 8 ft "Three of Us" Oil on Canvas (black white minimalist oil)

72 x 96 in / 6 x 8 ft "Three of Us" Oil on Canvas (black white minimalist oil)

By Alexis Portilla

Located in Los Angeles, CA

This is a beautifully nuanced, and deeply soulful abstract contemporary oil painting on linen, that speaks volumes with its quietly furious brushstrokes multi-layered in monochromati...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Alexis Portilla

Materials

Oil

Large Abstract Oil painting - Color Code I - unframed
Large Abstract Oil painting - Color Code I - unframed

Large Abstract Oil painting - Color Code I - unframed

By Alexis Portilla

Located in Los Angeles, CA

This is a beautiful, bright vibrant oil on paper. Unframed but framing can be requested, custom framed in Los Angeles. A very high resolution photograph is provided here to enable vi...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Alexis Portilla

Materials

Paper, Oil

27x26" paper- Black Pearl - Mixed Media on Paper

27x26" paper- Black Pearl - Mixed Media on Paper

By Alexis Portilla

Located in Los Angeles, CA

This is a beautiful piece by Alexis Portilla. The rich inky grey, black and white colors of this piece contrasts against the symbolism of vessels and pictographs. Vessels are a recur...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Alexis Portilla

Materials

Ink, Mixed Media, Oil, Graphite

Large Oil Painting on Paper - Color Code II - unframed
Large Oil Painting on Paper - Color Code II - unframed

Large Oil Painting on Paper - Color Code II - unframed

By Alexis Portilla

Located in Los Angeles, CA

This is a beautiful bright vibrant of yellows and golds, with pale blues and silvery grays - oil on paper. A very high resolution photograph is provided here to enable viewing of bot...

Category

2010s Abstract Alexis Portilla

Materials

Oil

Large oil painting 50x63" - "Skyline" - Oil Painting on Linen

Large oil painting 50x63" - "Skyline" - Oil Painting on Linen

By Alexis Portilla

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Presenting this bold piece with strong masterful brushwork, Alexis Portilla shows that his artistic virtuosity ranges from the strong and bold and big to the fragile, vulnerable smal...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Alexis Portilla

Materials

Linen, Oil

Large Oil Painting - "Black Elk" Monochromatic, Abstract Expressionism
Large Oil Painting - "Black Elk" Monochromatic, Abstract Expressionism

Large Oil Painting - "Black Elk" Monochromatic, Abstract Expressionism

By Alexis Portilla

Located in Los Angeles, CA

Black Elk Oil on Canvas 94 x 74" / 7 ft 10" x 6 ft 2" Signed at the back (Some of these images show his other large scale work in collections around the country) This is one of his...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Alexis Portilla

Materials

Oil

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Alexis Portilla art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Alexis Portilla art available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of art to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of blue, orange, yellow and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Alexis Portilla in paint, oil paint, fabric and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Alexis Portilla art, so small editions measuring 12 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Danny O'Connor, Andrei Petrov, and Timothy Archer. Alexis Portilla art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $980 and tops out at $28,000, while the average work can sell for $3,340.