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John Alexander is a modern American painter who currently resides in New York. “Born in 1945 in Beaumont, Texas in the Golden Triangle of oil refineries, muddy bayous and Gulf Coast wetlands that also spawned Robert Rauschenberg and Janis Joplin, John Alexander studied art at Lamar University in Beaumont and Southern Methodist University in Dallas. After teaching at the University of Houston from 1971 to 1978, he moved to New York to measure his talent against that of the international art communityâ€. As a child, Alexander and his father, John Alexander, Sr., often fished the bayous and swamps in a homemade boat, instilling in John the deep love and regard for the natural world that has influenced and driven his work for the entirety of his career.
John Alexander’s work is unwaveringly influenced by his affection for the southern landscape. In a recent essay for the book “One World, Two Artists, John Alexander and Walter Anderson,†Bradley Sumrall, chief curator of the Ogden Museum, writes: “Alexander moves easily from transcendent observation of his spiritual home, to casual observation of a meal served to him in Spain. Even though he has lived in the Northeast since 1979, the landscape of southeast Texas still informs his view of the world around him.†This deep love of land is mingled with satirical and scathing portraits that parody social, environmental, and political dysfunction. “Those [childhood] experiences inspired not only Alexander’s reverence for the natural world, but his sorrow over its degradation and his contempt for those responsible. It’s fair to say that much of his work today stems from a strong personal loathing for the sins of greed and hypocrisy—and he’s not shy about speaking his mindâ€. A recent painting called Lost Souls depicts Alexander’s cast of characters; various masked politicians, religious figures, skeletons, monkeys, and creatures, adrift in stormy waters. “Christina Mossaides Strassfield, the director and chief curator of the museum at Guild Hall, said the painting portrays ‘where America is now and what’s going on. You’re on this boat, and it doesn’t look like it’s too sturdy’â€
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