Although Alberto J. Almarza has formal training in design, drawing, painting, and photography, his artistic focus for the past several years incorporates experimental and invented media, mixed-media assemblage and installation. He looks to integrate many senses into the philosophy of art-making, giving special attention to the process over the product. For Alberto, art is an essential form of inner science, as important as science or spirituality themselves. His work is a meticulous attempt to blur the boundaries between consensus and potential reality, hoping to create a bridge between the realm of matter and that of inner vision.
Almarza was born and raised in Santiago, Chile, moving to Pittsburgh in 1999. In 2005, he graduated with honors from Carnegie Mellon University with a major in Communication Design, a minor in Art and a minor in Photography. Since then Alberto has been involved with the arts both as a professional artist and a performer. He has shown his artwork both in solo and group exhibits around the country and in his own country of origin. He has displayed works in the fields of drawing, painting, ceramics, assemblage and installation in gallery and festival settings, and has sold several privately commissioned pieces. He was a founding member of the Zany Umbrella Circus, and in 2009 implemented the first Pittsburgh Visionary Arts Festival. Alberto is a member of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh and an occasional guest member of Group A, as well as an instructor at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts where he teaches Sacred Geometry and other adult and children classes. He also conducts private art lessons for adults regularly. In July of 2009 he began teaching visual art at CAPA 6-12 in the middle school, where he has been granted the privilege of implementing some of his own curriculum material. In addition to his work as an artist, promoter, and teacher, Alberto is a husband and father of two.
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