Courtesy With titles like ‘World Gone Mad,' ‘Blind Leading the Blind,' ‘Enough's Enough' and ‘I Am Albert's Hard Times,' Albert Alvarez's art illustrates the ills of society.

WHO: Albert Alvarez, 24

MEDIA: Pen and ink, paint, hand-drawn animation

BEST KNOWN FOR: Densely packed black-and-white cartoon-like drawings portraying the ills of contemporary society

CURRENTLY: “Ampersand,” Alvarez's current exhibit with David Alcantar at Bihl Haus Arts, includes works with titles such as “World Gone Mad,” “Blind Leading the Blind,” “Enough's Enough” and “I Am Albert's Hard Times.” The drawings are filled with vignettes of gang violence, police brutality, people doing and selling drugs — scenes Alvarez witnessed himself living in San Antonio and stories he hears from friends. In “Poor, Broken, Hurt, and Angry,” Alvarez drew a Sprint store, an H-E-B, a house and other buildings behind a wall with barbed wire and a “No Trespassing” sign. “It's about being an artist,” Alvarez said. “All these things that are behind the wall that I can't reach. I don't know why I'm kept out of it.” He also incorporates text into his drawings, often quotes from the Chinese text Tao Te Ching.

BACKGROUND: A San Antonio native, Alvarez attended Brackenridge High School, then studied animation at the Rhode Island School of Design.

INFLUENCES: Painter Joe Coleman, rapper Necro, controversial libertarian radio personality and documentary filmmaker Alex Jones

CHECK HIM OUT: “Ampersand” is open 1-4 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and by appointment through Friday, Dec. 14, at Bihl Haus Arts, 2803 Fredericksburg Road.

Jessica Belasco | 210SA Contributor