Alexa Meade - A New Prespective in Portraiture
Every now and then comes along an artist that offers a really new perspective. Alexa Meade , all of 23 years old and not even officially trained in art, is one such remarkable person. And when we say perspective, we mean that she completely toys with our notion of depth and volume as she paints 3D objects (people, mostly) into 2D tableaux.
"Alexa Meade has innovated a Trompe-L'Oeil painting technique that can perceptually compress three-dimensional space into a two-dimensional plane. Her work is a fusion of installation, painting, performance, photography, and video art". "Rather than painting a representational picture on a flat canvas, Meade paints her representational image directly on top of her three-dimensional subjects. The subject and its representation become one and the same. Essentially, her art imitates life on top of life".
Alexa plays a very clever visual mind game with the viewer. One that personally has me riveted. Her work, due to the very fact that she paints on actual people, is ephemeral, performance art that is, thankfully, captured on camera. Here are some fascinating examples of her work:
Hard to believe that these are real-life models that will shed their acrylic skins once the performance is over.
To see more of Alexa Meade mesmerizing work, visit her website or see her photos capturing several exhibits on Flickr .
Of note, Alexa is also available for custom portraits. Though I haven't asked, I'm quite sure she won't do children!Contact her here .
