alexa meade: real life paintings

american artist alexa meade creates her representational paintings directly on her subjects, covering people and objects in layers of acrylic paint before photographing them. the works offer an unusual conflation of painting, installation, and photography, as the three-dimensional forms are collapsed in space, taking on a 2D appearance in the prints. in her exhibitions, meade frequently paints over small rooms in which a human subject sits for the duration of the show, offering a performative aspect to her work.

full figure of ‘transit’ / all images © alexa meade

‘spending my formative years immersed in the world of politicians and PR led to a fascination with the possibilities of repackaging source texts and adding superficial modifications that would profoundly alter perception,’ says alexa meade. ‘what the audience ultimately unpackaged was a personal interpretation of an already mediated re-presentation. […] by using paint as a mask that mimics the surface attributes of my source materials, I repurpose the common codes of painting.’

‘mediation’ 19×24″ limited edition chromogenic print

‘natura morta’ 18×24″ chromogenic print

‘natura morta’ installation 8’x6’x4′

‘framed’ 24×18″ limited edition chromogenic print

‘bernie’ study

left: ‘auspicious’, 24×18″ limited edition chromogenic print right: ‘the trap’, a model poses outside london’s saatchi gallery

meade at work painting one of her subjects image courtesy of dailymail

the artist poses with a completed installation image courtesy of dailymail

‘spectacle’ installation/performance

‘spectacle’ 18×24″ limited edition chromogenic print

Save