b. 1987, Long Beach, CA
Somebody Gotta Do The Work, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 in., 152 x 122 cm.
Blues, 2020, The Hole, New York, NY
Fool Me Baby, 2023, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48 in., 122 x 122 cm.
Storage Wars, 2023, The Hole, Los Angeles, CA
Untitled, 2019, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 36 in., 122 x 91 cm.
Rather Be Sweaty, 2019, acrylic on canvas, 48 x 36 in., 122 x 91 cm.
Daddy Sam Don’t Care, 2020, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 96 in., 152 x 244 cm.
The Horrors of Downward Mobility, 2019, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 in., 91 x 91 cm.
RomCom, 2017, The Hole, New York, NY
Blues, 2020, The Hole, New York, NY
Surround Sound, 2022, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 in., 91 x 91 cm.
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Alex Gardner is a figure painter working in acrylic to make intense and memorable scenes. His entangled ink-black bodies are draped with dramatically folding white cotton separates and posed in pastel environments where the reflections of color produce subtle gradients and thoughtful tonal shifts.
As in Mannerist paintings, they capture drama with their bodies through the distortion of torsion, a clump of muscle, a knobby knuckle, a languid wrist. Over-articulated fingers and feet contrast with completely featureless smooth faces; expression is only through body language. Gender is hinted at but as with the skin and the clothes and the environments, all cultural signifiers are smoothed over to de-individuate and universalize.
In these paintings the artist charges the familiar with poignancy, highlights the details as important, and paints figures that all genders and races could see themselves in. Mimicking snippets of classical painting—from an El Greco hand to a Pietà carry, a crucifixion foot, a Michelangelo muscle group—he is not just inserting his contemporary identity into art history, but also opening up these art historical perspectives for all viewers to connect with.
alex gardner
Lives and works in Long Beach, CA
education
BFA, California State University, Long Beach, CA
2011
solo exhibitions
Psychic Stamina, Perrotin, New York, NY
2024
Good Luck, X Museum, Beijing, China
2023
Drawing No Conclusions, MINE PROJECT, Hong Kong, CN
2022
We All Exist Right Now, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
2021
Free-For-All, König, Berlin, Germany
2021
Blues, The Hole, New York, NY
2020
Snooze Button, Mine Project, Hong Kong
2019
Amnesia, Carl Kostyal Gallery, London, UK
2019
The Armory Show, The Hole, New York, NY
2019
RomCom, The Hole, New York, NY
2017
Laugh Now Cry Now, New Image Art, West Hollywood, CA
2016
What is your reason for visiting?, The Dot Project, London, United Kingdom
2015
group exhibitions
30 Years of NIA, New Image Art, Los Angeles, CA
2024
You Need A Mango To Give A Mango, New Image Art, Los Angeles, CA
2023
Beneath the Surface, Lehmann Maupin, London, UK
2023
Storage Wars, The Hole, Los Angeles, CA
2023
Sounds of Blackness, Met Museum Manila, Manila, Philippines
2023
ZONA MACO, The Hole, CDMX, Mexico
2023
New Construction, The Hole, Los Angeles, CA
2022
They Gaze, James Fuentes Gallery, New York, NY
2019
Malmö Sessions, Carl Kostyál, London
2019
UNTITLED Art Fair, The Hole, Miami Beach, FL
2018
EXPO CHICAGO, The Hole, Chicago, IL
2018
CODE Art Fair, The Hole, Copenhagen, Denmark
2018
Art Athina, The Hole, Athens, Greece
2018
Dallas Art Fair, The Hole, Dallas, TX
2018
ZONA MACO, The Hole, Mexico City, Mexico
2018
ALAC, The Hole, Los Angeles, CA
2018
ZONA MACO, The Hole, Mexico City, Mexico
2018
EXPO Chicago, The Hole,Chicago, IL
2017
New Image Art, VOLTA NY, New York, NY
2017
Winter Invitational, Jonathan LeVine Projects, New York, NY
2016