Lisa Alvarado - Spiral Yellow

Spiral Yellow is a richly layered, 48-page publication exploring the research, materials, and ideas behind Lisa Alvarado’s exhibition of the same name. Through sketches, notes, and visual studies, the zine traces the evolution of Alvarado’s textile-infused paintings, highlighting her growing use of found and vintage fabrics sewn directly into the work. This approach deepens her engagement with Rasquachismo—an aesthetic rooted in resourcefulness and hybridity, articulated by Chicano theorist Tomás Ybarra-Frausto. By incorporating fabrics gathered from her travels and thrift stores, Alvarado creates compositions that merge painting and assemblage, honoring traditions of making-do while expanding the formal language of her hanging works.

Published by The Modern Institute (Glasgow, 2024), this staple-bound zine offers an intimate look into an artist continually experimenting with process, color, and cultural memory.

Cover: Paperback
Publisher: ‎ The Modern Institute
Publication date: ‎ 2024
Language: ‎ English
Print length: ‎ 48 pages
Dimensions: ‎ 8.5" x 8.5" x .25"