Alex Cao

Artist Q&A with Alex G. Cao

Alex G. Cao “Immortal” installation view

How and why did you become an artist?

Coming from China to New York City in the 80s was a wonderful experience; a world of beauty and enchantment. While studying at Fashion Institute of Technology, I was fortunate to be surrounded by fashion and beauty while gaining experience working in a creative field. Through work, I was engaging with pop culture, glorifying beauty and a vibrating downtown NYC scene. I began to reflect on the use of logos and classic icons as markers of society, as recognizable as the Parthenon of Ancient Greece or the Roman Colosseum – perhaps even more recognizable.

I visited Naples and Pompeii just after graduating to discover these iconic ancient cities which have the most profound impact. Through my travels I was able to identify the iconic styles and architecture of classical Greco-Roman society. In these places I uncovered mosaics which lined city streets for centuries. I started to make art while engaging with these memories, recalling this trip to Pompeii and building the architecture of my artistic career on the memory of this experience. After spending time in the piazzas of Italy surrounded by these ancient art forms. It was these formative trips that continue to inspire me artistically.

Tell us about your new show “Immortal.” What is the meaning of it?

This new body of work in “Immortal” blends the pop culture imagery I always inspired and fascinating in with materials including plexiglass, canvas and stainless steel mirrors. The stainless steel mirror holds particular significance as it reflects and augments what you’re already witnessing; even projecting outward. The tension between the relationship of small repetitive images and the large final composition makes this work especially poignant.

These framed work are … Click here to read more

Steve Lewis “American Neon”

Steve Lewis’ Americana and the Memory of Neon

In his first solo show with Lyons Wier Gallery in Chelsea, New York-based fine art photographer Steve Lewis looks back on the classic Americana style, and reminisces about the appeal of the road for everyday Americans in his exclusive online exhibition “American Neon”.

Featuring 12 new photographs, all available in editions of 10, and printed uniformly at a very easy-to-install size of 24 x 36 in | 61 x 91 cm, Lewis reminds us of our own personal history with neon signs. We’ve all had a memorable encounter with this flagrantly blinding advertising whether it was downtown, on the Vegas Strip, in the red light district of Amsterdam, or even at the corner pharmacy when picking up a prescription.

The use of neon is engrained in Americana, and was also brought to the art world by the innovative Dan Flavin in the 1960s into the contemporary context, and utilized by many artists since including light and space artist James Turrell, conceptual artist Glenn Ligon, and countless 21^st century artists at every art fair around the world.

When most hear of neon signs, it brings forward thoughts of Las Vegas, their infamous Neon Museum, Antique Road Show on PBS, or even any of the numerous shows on the History Channel where they buy and sell old goods. Lewis’ show aims to change all the misconceptions and presents these signs who have seen better days in a documentarian style, with a heavy feeling of nostalgia that seeks to make one feel comfortable with the these familiar tropes.

The standout photograph in “American Neon” is clearly “Motel Pool”. The image was taken somewhere in the plains of the United States, and depicts a dilapidated neon sign … Click here to read more