John Alexander (artist)
John Alexander is a modern American painter who currently resides in New York. “Born in 1945 in Beaumont, Texas in the Golden Triangle of oil refineries, muddy bayous and Gulf Coast wetlands that also spawned Robert Rauschenberg and Janis Joplin, John Alexander studied art at Lamar University in Beaumont and Southern Methodist University in Dallas. After teaching at the University of Houston from 1971 to 1978, he moved to New York to measure his talent against that of the international art community” (Tennant, Houston Chronicle, 2003). As a child, Alexander and his father, John Alexander, Sr., often fished the bayous and swamps in a homemade boat, instilling in John the deep love and regard for the natural world that has influenced and driven his work for the entirety of his career.
John Alexander’s work is unwaveringly influenced by his affection for the southern landscape. In a recent essay for the book “One World, Two Artists, John Alexander and Walter Anderson,” Bradley Sumrall, chief curator of the Ogden Museum, writes: “Alexander moves easily from transcendent observation of his spiritual home (Ten Mile Bayou or The Mighty Bog), to casual observation of a meal served to him in Spain (Blue Langoustine). Even though he has lived in the Northeast since 1979, the landscape of southeast Texas still informs his view of the world around him.” This deep love of land is mingled with satirical and scathing portraits that parody social, environmental, and political dysfunction. “Those [childhood] experiences inspired not only Alexander’s reverence for the natural world, but his sorrow over its degradation and his contempt for those responsible. It’s fair to say that much of his work today stems from a strong personal loathing for the sins of greed and hypocrisy—and he’s not shy about speaking his mind” (Hann, Art & Antiques, 2008). A recent painting called Lost Souls depicts Alexander’s cast of characters; various masked politicians, religious figures, skeletons, monkeys, and creatures, adrift in stormy waters. “Christina Mossaides Strassfield, the director and chief curator of the museum at Guild Hall, said the painting portrays ‘where America is now and what’s going on. You’re on this boat, and it doesn’t look like it’s too sturdy’” (Lipson, New York Times, 2013)
Alexander’s work ranges from the beautiful to the macabre: “...studies of fish are like something out of a textbook, massive abstract canvases like I’ve Been Living in a Hydrogen Bomb, and gorgeous, brightly colored pictures like Melon Fields, look as though they could be by three different artists, yet underlying all of them is Alexander’s keen insight into the world” (Cavanaugh, dcist, 2007). Ann Landi of ArtNews describes him as such: “Sharpeyed satirist, deft observer of the natural world, accomplished draftsman, frenzied expressionist—as an artist, John Alexander is hard to pin down. In his 40year career, he has gone through periods in which he’s turned a critical eye on the social and political scene; years when he’s dedicated himself to honing his drawing skills to the level of an Old Master; times of painting lush landscapes, bursting still lifes, and churning seascapes; and an explosive phase in the late 1970s and early ’80s when it seemed he was about to transform into a fullblown abstractionist. The lack of a consistent, identifiable style makes it difficult for curators, critics, and collectors to get a handle on this multitalented artist. The only continuum has been a fierce commitment to whatever happens to engage his sensibilities” (Landi, ArtNews, 2008). Alexander’s thick paint and forceful linework is often described as having a rich, physical quality, and is the unifying trait throughout his lifetime of work.
John Alexander’s work can be found in the permanent collections of leading museums, including the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC; the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas; the Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton; the Hirshhorn Museum, DC; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; the Meadows Museum, Dallas; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans; the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans; and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC, as well as many other distinguished public and private collections worldwide. Alexander was a 2013 recipient of the Guild Hall Lifetime Achievement Award, along with Mickey Straus, Walter Isaacson, and Nathan Lane.
John Alexander is the creator of the highly successful Crystal Head Vodka skull bottle, and is a coowner of the company along with distinguished actor and comedian Dan Aykroyd.
References
(1)http://www.johnalexanderstudios.com/ (2)http://www.johnalexanderreviews.net
External links
1. http://www.johnalexanderstudios.com 2. http://www.johnalexanderreviews.net 3. http://www.crystalheadvodka.com