Alexa Meade...things aren't always what they seem

While I was in school part of what I studied was how art reflects society...we can tell so much about a culture from it's art. I also looked at how we are shaped by art, both as individuals and as societies. Alexa Meade takes that concept to it's most literal extent, by physically turning people into art. Alexa paints her subjects...directly on her subjects...so if she were to paint your portrait, she would paint you, life size, directly on your own skin. Her work is partly a performance piece, very temporary because each painting will be washed away by it's subject, and the whole work is archived only by a photograph.

Alexa's paintings ask us to look at how we perceive people, and how we perceive the world around us...are we looking at people or just an external mask of people? Since she is based in Washing D.C. I think her paintings have even more meaning, because everything in D.C. is always so diplomatic and layered and nuanced and not quite what it seems.

Alexa's work also seems to ask one of the perpetual questions in aesthetics...what is art? Is the process of painting art? Is the photograph that documents the performance the art? If we consider a person who is painted to be art, what about the person underneath the paint...are they still art when you wash away the paint? Is it the materials, the artist, the process, or the subject that makes something art? I think it's probably a combination of all of those things.

From an art history perspective it's interesting to look at Alexa's paintings in the context of Trompe-L'Oeil paintings that were popular in the late 1800's. They were supposed to be so life like that they tricked you into thinking something was actually there instead of just a painting. Alexa's paintings trick you into thinking a painting is there, which I think is really smart and funny in the context of art history.

Alexa studied political science at Vassar, worked for the Obama Campaign, and interned on capital hill before turning to art. She is based in Washington D.C. and has a show coming up on June 12th at the Irvine Contemporary. Check her out if you're in the area! You can see more of her work online at her portfolio.