LOS ANGELES, CA.- Coagula Curatorial presents “Public Secrets” a solo show of new work by Abel Alejandre. The exhibit opened Saturday, April 9 and runs thru May 22.

This exhibit comes just weeks away from a major public work installation by Alejandre, opening to the public this spring. Twelve permanent artwork panels by the artist are now in place at the Westwood/Rancho Park Metro Station, part of the Expo Line extension opening May 20.

“Public Secrets” is a show of new paintings by Alejandre, who is mostly known for his meticulous graphite drawings.

Events of significance are reframed or colored by the secrets we laugh at, evangelize, believe, or run away from. “Public Secrets” is a new painting series that deals with conspiracies, family secrets, and UFOs. Such secrets can provide comfort as they surround us in an ordinary sort of way. The world is shaped and given a form we can recognize and somehow feel included in on the joke. The air we breathe, the technology we love and love to hate, our illnesses, our leaders and their overseers, untold histories; it is all suspect. Upon closer inspection, we see there is an invisible needle that threads and weaves rich tapestry of truths and untruths.

This is not a proper examination of such a daunting subject. It is less the anatomy of conspiracies and more a poking of the head into a mesmerizing and wonderful rabbit hole. The series is approached with curiosity. Do we not all conspire to hide our role in endeavors others might frown upon?

Abel Alejandre emigrated from Apatzingan, Mexico but considers Wilmington, California his hometown. His popular signature style is black on white, laborintensive crosshatched renderings from graphite that can take dozens of pencils and hundreds of hours to complete. He has exhibited internationally and is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago. This is his second solo show with Coagula Curatorial in Los Angeles.