Exhibition Dates: November 1 – December 20, 2014
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 1 from 6–8 pm
Gallery Location: 432 Julia Street, New Orleans, LA 70130
Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 am–5 pm
Contact Info: 504.522.1999; www.arthurrogergallery.com
The Arthur Roger Gallery is pleased to present Unique Observations of the Natural World, an exhibition of paintings and works on paper by John Alexander. The exhibition will be on view at Arthur Roger Gallery, located at 432 Julia Street, from November 1 – December 20, 2014. The gallery will host an opening reception, with the artist in attendance, on Saturday, November 1 from 6-8 pm.
Memory Lane, 2014. Oil on canvas. 70 x 60 inches.
John Alexander’s unique observation of nature makes up the foundation of this exhibition, the artist’s fourth with the gallery. Rooted in direct study, these works call upon the natural world for guidance and inspiration. It is, however, the soulful, inventive and spiritual side of these works that truly define them. Alexander is able to capture a raw power made possible through a deep understanding of the complexities that make up the natural world.
John Alexander was born in Beaumont, Texas. During expeditions with his father, he discovered the exotic wildlife of the swampy marshlands of the bayou and Gulf Coast. Though he has lived in New York for over thirty years, he is still deeply inspired by he environment in which he grew up. This exhibition of new medium- and large-scale paintings and works on paper embodies his enduring passion for the wildlife, flora and fauna of this region.
After completing an MFA in 1970 at Southern Methodist University, Alexander moved to Houston and became a member of the art faculty of the University of Houston. In the late 70s, Alexander left Texas for New York, first SoHo and later Amagansett on the south shore of Long Island. The artist settled there in an 18th century farmhouse on three acres of land by the coast.
In late 2007, Alexander had a major retrospective of his work first shown at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. and then in spring 2008 at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. In 2012, “One World, Two Artists: John Alexander and Walter Anderson” was exhibited at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. His work is included in the permanent collections of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Dallas Museum of Art; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans; the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; and the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles.