Alvin Hargrove was born July 13, 1971 in New Haven, Connecticut. Being raised both in New England, by his single mother and in tobacco country North Carolina with his sharecropping grandparents; has lent itself to a persona of southern hospitality and New England wit. Alvin currently resides in the Rogers Park neighborhood on the north side of Chicago, Ill.

 

As a youth Alvin always had a knack for sketching pretty much anything from comic book characters to still life objects.  In the 80’s while living in Connecticut, the introduction of hip hop, graffiti and the competitive nature of other artistic teens fueled his interest to become more expressive. Initially, Alvin was a sketcher and would have never imagined painting.  In 2006 as a Father’s Day gift, Alvin was registered to participate in his neighborhoods annual Artists of the Wall festival, which was his first opportunity to paint.  Since then he has not retired the paintbrushes and continues to nurture this passion to add color and dimension to his drawings.

 

As a self-taught painter Alvin embraces the use of acrylic paint to permeate bold colors and vitality to expressive imagery. Color contrast and orientation of detail are a vital deliberation when he creates.  Alvin’s works can best be described as narrative art which tell stories through images that many times focus on Black Americana, history, influences and the spirit of black culture. At times the painting may provide a platform to address social issues and morality. He likes for observers to become infused in the painting or subject matter as if they can step into the scene.