Juan Alonso arrived in the United States from his native Cuba on March 2, 1966, exactly one month before his tenth birthday.  He left behind, aside from material possessions, his father and two older sisters.  With his mother having passed away four years earlier, his life in America began with his aunt and uncle in Miami, Florida. 

At age 17, before finishing his last year of high school, he left home due to irreconcilable differences between him and his new family.  Several living situations later, and of legal age, he finished high school at night, and attempted college twice, but only for a very short period. 

Although visual art had always been a part of his life, it was music that he took up professionally.  He made a living singing and playing guitar in Florida nightclubs from 1976 to 1979 until he moved to San Francisco.  It was there that he sold his first two paintings to the San Francisco Inn on Lombard Street, where he worked at the time. 

After returning to Florida and living in Key West for nine months, he moved to Seattle in May of 1982.  With music now on the back burner, interest in painting and drawing became the main focus in his life.  Making art a career, however, was not his intent; it just happened. 

Since his inclusion in a group show of Latin-American artists in 1986 at Seattle Center, what started out as a strong interest, became a lifetime commitment.  This commitment is not exclusive to his own career, however.  It is important for him to promote other artists as well.  He has curated four exhibits for the Bumbershoot Festival, served on numerous art jury panels, and has been an advocate for the inclusion of minority artists in Washington State. 

Alonso’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the U.S., Canada, and Latin America.  He has been awarded the Morrie and Joan Alhadeff PONCHO Artist of the Year Award, Special Projects grants by 4 Culture and City of Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, a Gap Grant by Artist Trust, a Sustaining Purchase Award by the Seattle Arts Commission, the Behnke Foundation’s Neddy Artist Fellowship, and in 2010 the Seattle Mayor's Arts Award. 

His work is in public collections such as Seattle City Light Portable Works, State of Oregon, Washington State’s Art in Public Places Program, City of Everett, IMG Inc. in Tokyo, Microsoft, Safeco, AIDS Housing of Washington, Museum of Northwest Art and the Tacoma Art Museum.  He has completed public works for Qwest Field, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, King County Housing Authority, Sound Transit, and is currently working on a project for Epiphany School in the Madrona neighborhood. 

Contact Alison@SedersGallery.com for a current biography of shows

Artist’s Statement 

Over the years as my images and subjects have changed along with mediums and techniques; I have found that more than anything, humanity is the driving force in my work. The fact that I was born in Cuba, the quick loss of innocence I experienced as a young person in a foreign place, learning a new language, and growing up without my immediate family will always affect my work; sometimes more obviously than others. The politics that have made me an outsider intrigue me since they are almost always present, yet out of my control. The human condition, our fragile existence on this planet, the way we relate, love, isolate, and unnecessarily damage ourselves and the world we live in are fascinating topics, no matter how they are ultimately expressed. I am influenced by balance, perceived symmetry, alter-egos, architecture, growth & decay, weathered beauty, and sexuality. 

Juan Alonso
August 2010