Unseen work and the exercise of emotional control are central to Alfonso's practice. The qualities of invisibility and visibility become the foundations from which she develops drawings, installations, performances, and videos. Nathalie Alfonso (b. 1987, Bogota, Colombia) lives and works in South Florida. Alfonso holds a master’s in fine arts from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, and a Bachelor's in Fine Arts from Florida International University, Miami, FL. Alfonso has exhibited and performed her work in galleries, universities, and public spaces, such as NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, Dimensions Variable, Spinello Projects, Art and Culture Center Hollywood, The Projects – Fat Village, Sweet Pass Sculpture Park, Marymount University, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. In 2020 Alfonso was the recipient of the South Florida Cultural Consortium, was selected for The Anderson Ranch Residency program, and was invited to the Home + Away, Oolite Arts, Atlantic Center for the Arts Residency. Alfonso has been nominated for the Cultural Joan Mitchell Fellowship 2021 and The United States Artist 2023-2024.

“Growing up in Bogota, Colombia, where I was born in 1987, gave me an adventurous spirit. Having the country’s capital as the setting of my childhood, I had the urge to see and discover everything within reach and beyond. I remember having a tremendous desire to be awake all the time to ensure I wouldn’t miss anything. At nine, I started speed walking and track and field. I was committed to the sport for ten years. The consistency of training kept me moving and instilled in my body a routine of extreme order and repetition. Once life circumstances steered me away from being a professional athlete, this discipline stayed with me. Faced with life's unexpected turns and overcoming personal boundaries, adult responsibilities were upon me. In 2006, I moved to the United States and have lived and worked in South Florida. Upon arriving, I integrated myself into the workforce, first as a cashier, then as a custodian, kitchen manager, secretary, housekeeper, and babysitter. This work put me through college, later shifting into production work in the arts. Today in my studio practice, combining the repetition learned during my years of training with the efficiency of indispensable workers, I question and produce artworks that present notions of invisible labor, repetition, and endurance. The qualities of invisibility in manual labor are the foundations for developing drawings, installations, performances, and videos. Unseen work and emotional control during production are central to my work.”

All Photos: Chika Kobari