Fernando Luis Alvarez
Fernando Luis Alvarez is a Colombian-American art gallerist and artist based in Stamford, Connecticut. He is the founder of his eponymous art gallery, Alvarez Gallery.
Biography
Early life
Alvarez was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, but raised by his grandmother Clementina in Colombia. He returned to the States at age 12. He attended elementary to high school in Greenwich. He then attended Richmond, The American International University in London, where he studied international business, finance, political science, and economics.In 1999, he built an ad agency called APe-Shop that outsourced creative execution to Latin America. Alvarez sold the company in 2005, traveled for a while, worked as a senior business analyst, and began a career in the art world.
Spoon Movement
In June 2018, Fernando Luis Alvarez executed guerrilla installations with Domenic Esposito in protest of the opioid epidemic. This became The Spoon Movement, whose mission was to hold accountable the architects of the opioid epidemic in particular Purdue Pharma. They temporarily installed a 10-foot long, 800-pound steel spoon representing a "heroin spoon". It was deposited in front of the headquarters of Purdue Pharma for their role in the opioid endemic in the United States.Alvarez was charged with "a criminal misdemeanor and a felony" for the installation of the spoon sculpture and was arrested. The sculpture was confiscated but later returned to Esposito. Alvarez was allowed to participate in an accelerated rehabilitation program, and was cleared of the charges because he stayed away from Purdue Pharma for one year.