Muck Bug (C)

Alexandra Noel was born in 1989. She lives in Los Angeles.

Alexandra Noel’s work is distinctive for its oil-painted panels, immediately recognizable by their dimensions — usually that of a postcard or paperback book — but even more so by the fascinating universe they unfold. The format immediately draws us in. It forces us to come closer, to give ourselves wholly to the contemplation of its cosmic landscapes, phantasmatic architectures or intimate scenes. Although our mind can sometimes wander to possible references to Surrealist painting or Hollywood cinema, we are captivated by the internal coherence of each work, which always seems to harbor a secret, unresolved tension beneath its delicately mastered surface. 

But what makes Alexandra Noel's pictorial work essential is the wit with which her medium unfolds and complexifies this visual repertoire. Whether through her illusionist representations, her humorous use of impasto and other textural effects, her various experiments with support and materials, or her typical enameled edges, she demonstrates, far from any virtuosity or preciosity, an empirical, incisive and joyful intelligence. Her incursions into the field of sculpture, as well as her practice of fictional writing, contribute to the constitution of an extremely personal body of work.

Alexandra Noel is represented by Derosia (New York) and Antenna Space (Shanghai).