Researcher ORCID Identifier
0009-0000-3021-1851
Date of Award
Spring 5-17-2025
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Art
First Advisor
Rachel Lachowicz
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
@2025ReinaAlvarez
Abstract
In a world saturated with digital distractions, 7 Gateways in the Milky Way offers an invitation to slow down, step inside a moment, and contemplate the unseen. This body of work reframes time and perception through a series of conceptual cosmic creations—immersive installations meant to be occupied, not just observed.
The series incorporates geometric abstraction, conceptual sculpture, and contemplative environments composed of textiles, wood, sand, sound, light, redefined found objects, and ram’s horns. Inspired by the mysticism of the number seven—often symbolizing completion or cycle—each piece acts as a portal, shifting the viewer’s sense of space and time.
These site-responsive works are structured by spatial gestures like arches, bridges, and thresholds. They cultivate interactions with the literal and metaphorical space beyond the gallery—spaces where rhythm, sound, and memory converge. My multisensory practice blends tactile materials with layered sound and multimedia elements to mirror how the subconscious moves through thought, sensation, and time.
I introduce rhythm and movement through poetic cadences—drawing influence from jazz, hip-hop, and spoken word. This adds a temporal layer to the visual field, mirroring how memory loops, stretches, or collapses.
Rather than seek singular interpretations, I invite slow discovery and layered engagement. Each work is a proposition: to dwell, to exchange, to witness transformation. My aim is to create meaningful environments that reward presence and reflection—experiences that stretch beyond two dimensions and invite a more intimate way of being with the world.
Recommended Citation
Alvarez, Reina, "7 Gateways In The Milky Way" (2025). CGU MFA Theses. 192.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_mfatheses/192
Included in
Art Practice Commons, Interactive Arts Commons, Sculpture Commons
Link To Artist's Gallery
https://www.youtube.com/@TenaciousMemory