ALEX ISRAEL IS BACK AT ALMINE RECH GALLERY

By Crash redaction

Alex Israel ‘Self Portrait (Seagull)’, 2014 Acrylic and Bondo on Fiberglas © Alex Israel Courtesy of the artist and Almine Rech Gallery

Well known as an avant-gardist artist of the Californian scene, Alex Israel presents his latest exhibition at Almine Rech gallery this summer: a mysterious itinerary across sophistication. This new exhibition is made of a polychrome sculpture representing Chevy Corvette, stationed near a cactus tree. The other pieces are self-portraits and pieces called “Lenses”, in a range of yellow, orange and purple. The configuration of the exposition asserts his conception of exhibitions as actual events. These pieces create an unusual atmosphere, a gathering of his precedent creations and a new era. Recognized for his work about Californian lifestyle and casts, Alex Israel shows a specific form with various stereotypical images from Los Angeles.

As in his latest exhibitions, Alex Israel honours typical Californian art from precedent centuries (Craig Kauffman, Larry Bell, DeWain Valentine). The two self-portraits were initially made to be a logo for As It Lays – a set of films interviews with known-well actors. Nowadays this « logo » could be considered as a stylish self-portrait of Alex Israel. Collections are, as always, powerful devices creating situations given to all kinds of conceptions. This artistic journey is leading the viewer into a palette of feelings.

http://www.alminerech.com/en/artists/91/Alex-Israel

Alex Israel ‘Desperado’, 2014 Acrylic on bronze Photo by: Joshua White © Alex Israel Courtesy of the artist and Almine Rech Gallery