A collaboration between Transformer
& Andres Izquierdo
HIPPOS AND COKE
Presented as part of Transit, American University’s MFA Thesis Exhibition
April 19 - May 18
American University’s Museum at the Katzen Arts Center
AU Museum Hours: Wednesday - Sunday, 11-4 pm
OPENING RECEPTION
APRIL 26, 6 - 9 PM
Partial sales of Izquirdo’s artwork presented within the exhibition will directly support Transformer and our mission to connect, elevate, and serve a diversity of emerging artists and arts leaders.
This exhibition presents the thesis work of six American University MFA candidates: Phaedra Askarinam, Pooja Campbell, Patricia Edwine Poku, Connor Gagne, Andrés Izquierdo, Julia Cheng Zhang, whose practices encompass painting, photography, ceramics, installation, and performance. While they each draw on their unique personal histories, they find common cause as a cohort in the concept of transit—a word that one dictionary defines as “an act, process, or instance of passing through or over.” To varying degrees, their work examines the transitions—between cultures, through grief, into parenthood—that define moments of self-discovery."
Through the generosity of the artist, a portion of all art sales will be donated to Transformer to support our mission to connect, elevate, and serve a diversity of emerging artists and arts leaders.
ABOUT ANDRES IZQUIERDO /
I craft oil-painted portraits that reimagine well-known figures and historical moments, using vivid color and contrast to expose the layers of identity, power, and influence they hold. Through these transformations, I invite viewers to navigate the enduring imprints these forces leave on society.
The work displayed here is inspired by the extraordinary and complex case of Pablo Escobar’s hippopotamuses—once a private exhibition of excess, now an ecological crisis. Imported in the 1980s as a symbol of unchecked power, these animals have since thrived in Colombia’s Magdalena River Basin, growing from an initial four to an estimated 150 to 200 by 2025. Their rapid proliferation has disrupted local ecosystems, sparking urgent debates about invasive species, human intervention, and ethical wildlife management.
But this story is more than just an environmental anomaly—it is personal. I grew up in Colombia during Escobar’s reign, a time marked by relentless terrorism, bombings, kidnappings, and violence that left a generation impacted. Friends and colleagues bore the burdens of this era—some were kidnapped, and others were murdered. These experiences shape my artistic inquiry, embedding within it a visceral understanding of history’s weight and the shadow of power.
This body of work is not solely about Escobar’s hippos; it also addresses the aftershocks of unchecked authority, the clash between human ambition and nature, and the role of art as a witness to global challenges. Through these paintings, I encourage viewers to reflect on the enduring consequences of human actions—on individuals, on landscapes, and on the narratives we choose to uphold.