ARTIST STATEMENT

These works arrive through color and scale. They are meant to be encountered before they are understood.

I’m interested in what happens when an image holds someone’s attention long enough for reaction to soften — when certainty pauses and the viewer becomes aware of their own response before forming an opinion about what they’re seeing.

The work doesn’t offer explanations or conclusions. It isn’t concerned with clarity or agreement. What matters to me is the shift from looking to thinking, when the viewer remains present without instruction and without resolution.

What remains is not an answer, but the responsibility of having looked.

BIOGRAPHY

Alz (born Allan Wayne Glenn Sousa II) is a Bermudian artist based in the Boston area. He works primarily in acrylic and oil, producing large-scale paintings alongside smaller works, with an emphasis on scale and color.

Alz began exhibiting his work seriously in August 2023. He is the co-founder and gallery director of Black Walls Gallery in Boston, where his work has been developed and shown within an ongoing exhibition context.

In August 2023 and again in August 2025, he was named Artist of the Year at Art St. Hope, an annual charity exhibition supporting St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Boston. His work has also been commissioned and licensed through a collaboration with ZZZ’s Rolling Papers.

Although he resides in Providence, Rhode Island, Alz’s work and exhibitions are centered in Boston, where he continues to actively produce and present his work.

Selected clients and partners

Alz works with galleries, brands, and collectors who respect creative autonomy and aren’t looking for decoration. Collaborations are selective, grounded in trust, and centered on work that stands on its own terms.