Alexander Apóstol
Regime: Dramatis Personae

Alexander Apóstol (b. 1969, Barquisimeto, Venezuela; lives in Madrid) explores the entanglement of art and systems of political power in Latin America and how the two mirror and distort each other. In his photographs, videos, and installations, Apóstol questions how national identity is constructed and mythologized. He often references Geometric Abstraction and the work of Carlos Cruz-Diez and Jesús Rafael Soto—among the most internationally recognized Venezuelan artists of the last century—to interrogate the political landscape of his home country.

Regime: Dramatis Personae (2017) is a series of black-and-white portraits depicting archetypal figures appearing on the stage of both populist and authoritarian governments. Drawing on years of research into Venezuela’s political history, Apóstol analyzed the gestures, postures, and body language associated with characters operating within a political comedy of errors. This inquiry probes pivotal moments in Latin America’s history, from the roster of heroes who fought for independence from the Spanish crown in the nineteenth century and the promises of progress and modernism that defined most of the twentieth century, to the rise and fall of the Bolivarian Revolution that led to the current humanitarian and political crisis. The resulting portraits are not representations of specific individuals, but rather of the roles produced and performed under autocratic regimes, a distinction underscored by the fact that each portrait is not inscribed with a name, but with the social function embodied by the sitter. Although Apóstol was responding to preceding events, these portraits continue to resonate with the shifting political climate of his country, inaugurated by the United States’s intervention that began in January 2026.

The photographs were taken in Caracas in 2017, during a period of intensified violent government repression. The artist collaborated with LGBTQ+ activists, who modeled figures of their choice from the artist’s proposed dramatis personae, a Latin phrase meaning “persons of the drama.” Traditionally, a dramatis personae is the list of characters in a play, with brief descriptions of their roles, preceding the comedy or drama yet to unfold. From the ninety photographs comprising the series, Apóstol often makes a selection specific to the country or city where they are displayed. For this presentation, he pointedly features portraits such as EL DICTADOR (THE DICTATOR), El POLICÍA ENMASCARADO (THE MASKED POLICE OFFICER), LA TURISTA IDEOLÓGICA (THE IDEOLOGICAL TOURIST), EL SIEMPRE SOSPECHOSO INTERMEDIARIO INTERNACIONAL (THE EVER-SUSPICIOUS INTERNATIONAL INTERMEDIARY), EL MILICIANO APOYADO (THE PROPPED-UP PARAMILITARIST), and EL DE HOLLYWOOD (THE ONE FROM HOLLYWOOD), among others.

Alexander Apóstol, Regime: Dramatis Personae is organized by José Luis Blondet, Senior Curator, with Emilia Nicholson-Fajardo, Curatorial Assistant, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.

Major support is provided by the MOCA Global Council.

This exhibition is made possible by generous endowment support from The Max Yavno Fund.

Exhibitions at MOCA are supported by the MOCA Fund for Exhibitions with lead funding provided by The Goodman Family Foundation. Major funding is provided by Tatiana Botton, Kathi and Gary Cypres, Alfred E. Mann Charities, and Alicia Miñana and Robert Lovelace. Generous funding is provided by Michael and Zelene Fowler, The Earl and Shirley Greif Foundation, John Morace and Tom Kennedy, Daryl and Robert Offer, Jonathan Segal, and the Carl and Ruth Shapiro Family Foundation.