John Alexander: A Retrospective

Emotionally raw, physically intimidating, beautiful and barbed, the work of American painter Alexander in the 1970s and '80s captures perfectly the artistic sensibility of the time. Growing up in the Gulf Goast marshlands of east Texas, Alexander came of age in the midst of the turbulent 1960s, and the contention of the Civil Rights movement, along with a distrust of his religious upbringing, are common themes. An artist's artist, he combines his political message with stunning depictions of nature, portraiture and the occasional bizarre still-life, often taking the theory and conscience of Expressionism into satirical territory-works Pope Dewey, Pope Huey and Pope Louie depict the holy men in beaked masks and dunce caps. The course of Alexander's evolution from chaotic drip paintings of devils and pigs to a more refined and illustrative technique are chronicled, tied by ""dramatic light-and-shadow effects"" and an ""overall apocalyptic atmosphere."" Also included are post-9/11 works, many concerning capitalist greed and religious hypocrisy. Alexander is anything but subtle, and this volume-as informative as it is beautiful-frames his work well without diminishing its impact.