Alex Markwith
Basic information
b. 1988, Kingston, PA, USA
visual artist
Residence: Helsinki
Contact information
Phone number: 0453169693
Email: alexmarkwith@gmail.com
Artist’s Statement
My work combines painting, drawing and sculpture, in varying proportions, with each piece being a hybrid of the three.
Though I work almost exclusively in abstraction, I am influenced by reading about science and philosophy, two interrelated fields which have always been of great importance to the arts.
I like to play with texture, positive and negative space, different shades of black, neon and metallic colors. My work has been compared to fashion, in part because I often use fabric. This is also, I think, because my sculptural works relate to the human body through their scale.
Construction supplies, such as reflectors, roofing shingles, concrete and brightly colored tape appear frequently in my pieces. I like these materials for their formal visual qualities, as well as their conceptual reference to the street, and the process of repairing or building.
Stylistically I am influenced by many art historical periods including arte povera, post-minimalism, surrealism and abstract expressionism.
Often, my work begins on the studio floor, with scraps of fabric and paper, canvases, twine, found plastic and metal. I have my hands, a hammer, needle and thread, scissors, saws, acrylic mediums. One element resonates with another, a third can wrap around the second. A stroke of paint intervenes. Does it connect? That is when I step back to examine the spontaneous.
The process is intuitive before analytic, though both play a role. I do not know what the work will look like until it is finished. Working with my hands provides a bridge between the mind and body.
I graduated from Rhode Island School of Design (BFA Painting, 2011), and have exhibited in many cities including New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Helsinki and Paris. I was based in New York for ten years, before moving to Helsinki in 2020.
Though I work almost exclusively in abstraction, I am influenced by reading about science and philosophy, two interrelated fields which have always been of great importance to the arts.
I like to play with texture, positive and negative space, different shades of black, neon and metallic colors. My work has been compared to fashion, in part because I often use fabric. This is also, I think, because my sculptural works relate to the human body through their scale.
Construction supplies, such as reflectors, roofing shingles, concrete and brightly colored tape appear frequently in my pieces. I like these materials for their formal visual qualities, as well as their conceptual reference to the street, and the process of repairing or building.
Stylistically I am influenced by many art historical periods including arte povera, post-minimalism, surrealism and abstract expressionism.
Often, my work begins on the studio floor, with scraps of fabric and paper, canvases, twine, found plastic and metal. I have my hands, a hammer, needle and thread, scissors, saws, acrylic mediums. One element resonates with another, a third can wrap around the second. A stroke of paint intervenes. Does it connect? That is when I step back to examine the spontaneous.
The process is intuitive before analytic, though both play a role. I do not know what the work will look like until it is finished. Working with my hands provides a bridge between the mind and body.
I graduated from Rhode Island School of Design (BFA Painting, 2011), and have exhibited in many cities including New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Helsinki and Paris. I was based in New York for ten years, before moving to Helsinki in 2020.
