Alex Face 'Impressions'
Vertical Gallery, Alex Face make their ‘Impressions’ on New York City
Vertical Gallery, Chicago’s premier urban-contemporary art gallery, is very proud to present ‘Impressions,’ celebrated Thai street artist Alex Face’s first New York City solo exhibit.
‘Impressions,’ produced by Vertical Gallery, commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Impressionist movement, projecting Alex Face’s signature child characters into dreamlike landscapes inspired by Claude Monet and other fin-de-siècle French masters. The show runs Oct. 10-26 at 247 Elizabeth Street, NYC, 10012, kicking off with an opening reception on Thursday, Oct. 10 from 5:00 to 9:00 pm ET.
‘Impressions,’ which follows roughly two years after Vertical Gallery’s Chicago flagship hosted Alex’s solo showcase ‘Faces,’ reinterprets Impressionism’s spirit and sensibilities for the 21st century, embracing the movement’s most enduring innovations — among them discontinuous brushstrokes, shimmering colors and radical contrasts between shadows and light — while remaining true to the Bangkok-based painter’s stylistic hallmarks and thematic concerns.
“I studied fine art [at Bangkok's King Mongktut University Institute of Technology] and I love graffiti and street art, and I wanted to mix them together,” Alex (born Patcharapol Tangruen) says. “When I first saw Impressionist painting, it made me want to be an Impressionist artist. I always carried my canvas and paints outside to paint landscapes, and Impressionists were the first artists to paint outside. What they did is really no different from street artists spray-painting graffiti on a wall.”
Alex learned Impressionist techniques firsthand when he worked for a Thai company that sold reproductions of Impressionist-era paintings. “I painted a lot of reproductions, and I learned a lot. I even tried to mix the exact same colors of paint they used, but there’s almost too much color in those paintings for your eye to see,” he recalls. “When I had a chance to go to Europe to see real Impressionist paintings, I realized they were so much different than they seem in books. It’s not only one layer of paint. They painted over and over and over. That’s what I’m doing for this show: I paint the first layer and let it dry, and then I paint another layer and let it dry. I want that same texture.”
‘Impressions’ breaks with Impressionist trademarks and tools by incorporating spray-painted images of children in fuzzy animal costumes — avatars instantly familiar to longtime Alex Face enthusiasts. “I paint little children because they represent the future,” Alex explains, noting that the show prominently features wolf and rabbit characters (signifying hunters and prey, respectively).
Alex Face made his Vertical Gallery debut in 2019, co-headlining the exhibit ‘Mythical Creatures’ opposite fellow Bangkok street artist Muebon. He subsequently contributed to Vertical group shows including ‘Atomic Number 13’ (2021) and ‘Ode To…’ (2023). In addition to solo outings in Los Angeles and Singapore, his work resides in MOCA Bangkok’s permanent collection.
Show Details:
Vertical Gallery presents Alex Face “Impressions”
October 10-26, 2024
Opening Thursday, October 10th, 5:00-9:00pm
247 Elizabeth Street, NYC, 10012
Email us at sales@verticalgallery.com for the collector's preview.