Alëxone recently presented a new body of work as part of a recent group exhibition entitled En Vie at the Secret Gallery in Paris also featuring Julien Colombier, Sebastien Preschoux, Vincent Abadie Hafez, Mambo and Mr Jago. Liberté is a core principle of both Alëxone’s native France and his new work. In his paintings, this freedom is often joyously creative but at times tips over to also become unsettlingly menacing. The work provides a mirror on the world as viewed through the artist’s eyes; surrealist penguins, elephants and horses are used to suggest both familiar figures in our lives who carry great significance for us and anonymous strangers that go unnoticed on a daily basis.
The rich and vivid use of colour, and minimal use of simple blacks and whites, helps to depict a complex world without easy certainties. In the large verdant painting entitled Vaguement Vert, the presence of a menacingly snarling dog acts as a counterpoint against the work’s dominant themes of love and fidelity. Furthermore, the pieces are peppered with wordplay and references to everything from pop culture to the weekly food shop which provide the details that help to anchor Alëxone’s otherwise surrealist work in the real world.
Painted on richly patterned and textured fabrics, rather than more conventional canvas, the pieces contain his characteristic energy and rhythm. Although they were created to be enjoyed in the conventional way, by donning the 3D glasses provided at the exhibition, the viewer gains an alternative perspective on the work with greens receding into the distance and reds popping off the surface of the fabric. The exhibition also includes a Moroccan metalwork sculpture and the artist’s paintings on photographs which formed the basis for his recent monograph entitled Alëxone Company.
Photo credit: @feralthings
