lex Gross (b. 1968 in Roslyn Heights, New York) is a visual artist currently working in Los Angeles, California. Since graduated in 1990 from Art Center College of Design, in Pasadena, California, he has become established as an artist in the Pop Surrealism movement (lowbrow art). Gross’ art features striking, dreamlike imagery that transcends category, a haunting mélange of fairytale, allegory, history and pop culture, fusing eastern and western aesthetics in an ethereal mix of retro Japanese-style visuals, Victorian imagery and consumer culture iconography. His earliest artistic influences were comic books and movies, especially the strong visuals from science fiction television and films like Star Trek and later Star Wars. Having received in 2000 a fellowship from the Japan Foundation and spent two months traveling throughout Japan, researching and collecting a wide variety of Japanese Fine and Commercial art, his early works are quite influenced by that culture and imaginary. Later, other elements concurred to define his esthetic: “I like how dreams have meaningful themes but freely combine imagery that does not belong together, and I try to bring that same approach to my painting”. “I’ve always been fascinated with older imagery, whether it’s Victorian photographs, or Gothic painting from the 1400′s. But, I’m equally interested in contemporary images and themes”. “Lately my work is influenced to a large extent by advertising, particularly fashion advertising. I consider it to be some of the most beautiful imagery around, much more than most fine art. And the irony of using such sophisticated and voluptuous images to sell these ridiculous, grossly overpriced brands makes the images all the more fascinating to me. Other advertising interests me as well, since it is so omnipresent in all our lives today. I can’t help but incorporate references to it in most of my work.” His paintings are so full of references that they seem to exist as a dream space that is saturated with endless signifiers, symbols, logos and icons. Combined with archetypal, even mystical imagery and painted flatly with an already-dated palette, they evoke a distinct feeling of unease, dread and alienation. The eyes of his subjects appear glazed over, hypnotized, transfixed, but not looking at anything: they themselves are spectacles, caught in a matrix of manufactured commercial desire and co-opted identity. In addition, the paintings are like composites of other paintings, creating an aesthetic of homage, appropriation and visual recycling – mirroring both the mindscape of consumerism and the language of the unconscious. His work has been featured in several solo shows, is collected worldwide, and has been featured in numerous publications.
http://www.alexgross.com/
