Join us on Thursday, November 9 at 6pm as the MFA hosts an Artist Talk with Jose Alvarez (D.O.P.A.).

Globally renowned and celebrated for his exquisitely crafted lush and brilliant works, Jose Alvarez (D.O.P.A.) brings an extraordinary life story to a rich and compelling body of work in a variety of media. Born Deyvi Orangel Peña Arteaga, using his moniker Jose Alvarez (D.O.P.A.), creates paintings/collages on mica, videos, installations, and performances, through which he breaks down belief systems into intersecting components of science, spirituality, and mysticism. In 1987, artist Jose Alvarez (D.O.P.A) fled Venezuela to escape persecution. Twenty-five years later, Alvarez was charged with identity theft and falsifying a passport and was detained at Krome Detention Center in Miami for two months in 2012. During this time, he created a series of portraits of his fellow detainees using ballpoint pens and whatever paper he could find. From its remarkably arduous and modest beginnings, his art has matured into a thriving creative practice, gaining acknowledgment from significant institutions worldwide.