Interview conducted by Rigoberto Luna.
Adrian Armstrong is a multidisciplinary artist from Omaha, NE now living and working out of Austin, TX. Armstrong received his BFA from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln in 2014. His work expands throughout different mediums such as music, painting, and printmaking, but his primary medium of choice is ballpoint pen.
Through portrait and figurative practices, Armstrong’s work explores black identity and how the black body is perceived in predominantly White American spaces. He aims to portray what it means to be an African American living in modern America. Often using himself as an “every man” symbol, Armstrong’s work touches on topics such as depression within the black community, systematic oppression, and identity erasure; but on the other side of the spectrum explores nostalgia, growth, and success.
Rigoberto Luna is the Co-founder and Director of the Presa House Gallery in San Antonio, TX. Since 2010 Luna has developed numerous exhibitions with a heavy focus on Latinx artists of Central and South Texas. Recently Luna has served as the juror of the Third Coast Biennial National Juried Exhibition at K Space Contemporary in Corpus Christi and panelist for the Third Annual Tito's Prize at Big Medium in Austin. Luna has also served as curator for multiple exhibitions with the City of San Antonio's Department of Arts & Culture and the World Heritage Office. Recently, Luna joined the team at Big Medium in support of the Texas Biennial.
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Adrian Armstrong