John Alexander: Recent Paintings and Drawings
John Berggruen Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings and drawings by Texas-born, New York-based artist John Alexander, on view March 16 鈥� April 23, 2016. John Alexander: Recent Paintings and Drawings is the first solo exhibition for Alexander in the gallery and will feature works inspired by the natural landscape鈥攃anvases abound in highly detailed, realistically rendered botanicals and animals鈥攁 subject the artist has returned to in recent years. An opening reception for the artist will be held on Wednesday, March 16th from 5:30pm鈥�7:30pm.
For Alexander, whose childhood consisted of camping and fishing trips in the bayous and woods of East Texas, nature is a frequent subject. His lush paintings populated with diverse flora and fauna signal a reverence for the tradition of landscape painting as practiced by such art historical masters as Claude Monet or the more recent Hudson River School painters of the American northeast. As an undergraduate majoring in applied-arts at Lamar University in Beaumont, Alexander was influenced by professor and friend, Jerry Newman, whose courses emphasized academic training in drawing, painting, and art history. Himself a skilled draftsman, Newman encouraged his students to develop of a firm foundation in still-life drawing and to copy sketches by such masters as Leonardo da Vinci. Evidence of Alexander鈥檚 rigorous formal training is not lost on a viewer of his works, which profess the skill and knowledge of an artist eagerly passionate about nature from the standpoint of enthusiastic student and devoted environmentalist. Alexander鈥檚 vision of nature, for example, was influenced by his father鈥檚 avid environmentalism and acute awareness of the devastating effects that industry and pollution had on the forests and habitats of his native Texas.
The bucolic subject matter of Alexander鈥檚 paintings belies their subtle energy. His keen observations of the natural world and vivid imagery are the idiosyncratic expressions of an artist for whom everything is symbolic. The exoticism and beauty of his creations, as romantic as they seem, possess an introspective quality and speak to the psychology and experiences of the artist. Alexander has described his manner of painting as being akin to the same quality of emotional expressiveness that characterizes the work of the Abstract Expressionists.
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John Berggruen Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings and drawings by Texas-born, New York-based artist John Alexander, on view March 16 鈥� April 23, 2016. John Alexander: Recent Paintings and Drawings is the first solo exhibition for Alexander in the gallery and will feature works inspired by the natural landscape鈥攃anvases abound in highly detailed, realistically rendered botanicals and animals鈥攁 subject the artist has returned to in recent years. An opening reception for the artist will be held on Wednesday, March 16th from 5:30pm鈥�7:30pm.
For Alexander, whose childhood consisted of camping and fishing trips in the bayous and woods of East Texas, nature is a frequent subject. His lush paintings populated with diverse flora and fauna signal a reverence for the tradition of landscape painting as practiced by such art historical masters as Claude Monet or the more recent Hudson River School painters of the American northeast. As an undergraduate majoring in applied-arts at Lamar University in Beaumont, Alexander was influenced by professor and friend, Jerry Newman, whose courses emphasized academic training in drawing, painting, and art history. Himself a skilled draftsman, Newman encouraged his students to develop of a firm foundation in still-life drawing and to copy sketches by such masters as Leonardo da Vinci. Evidence of Alexander鈥檚 rigorous formal training is not lost on a viewer of his works, which profess the skill and knowledge of an artist eagerly passionate about nature from the standpoint of enthusiastic student and devoted environmentalist. Alexander鈥檚 vision of nature, for example, was influenced by his father鈥檚 avid environmentalism and acute awareness of the devastating effects that industry and pollution had on the forests and habitats of his native Texas.
The bucolic subject matter of Alexander鈥檚 paintings belies their subtle energy. His keen observations of the natural world and vivid imagery are the idiosyncratic expressions of an artist for whom everything is symbolic. The exoticism and beauty of his creations, as romantic as they seem, possess an introspective quality and speak to the psychology and experiences of the artist. Alexander has described his manner of painting as being akin to the same quality of emotional expressiveness that characterizes the work of the Abstract Expressionists.
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