Alex Gingrow

Lives and works in Hudson Valley, NY

Artist statement

I make text-based paintings and drawings that are at turns witty, sardonic, poetic, self-deprecating, and revealing. Drawing on reserves of personal narrative, political observation, and creative allowance, I typically begin each piece with meticulously edited text that has been distilled from volumes of free-form writing. Once I am satisfied with the phrasing of the narrative, I then use the Reed-Kellogg method of sentence diagramming to further edit and disassemble the text. For me, sentence diagramming is the act of critical examination, understanding, and enlightenment. In a sentence diagram, each and every word, from the most innocuous article to the most grandiose verb, serves a purpose and is essential to the system of communication and understanding. The sentence diagram serves to democratize the content of the text. From there, I use the basic formal elements of line, color, and shape to create a visual design that is based directly on the narrative. This design is then repeated over and over resulting in an atmospheric wallpaper that ostensibly occupies the walls of the mental space that each text inhabits. The patterns in the wallpaper are symbolic of the systems of communication upon which we rely in order to coexist in the world. Thus, even while the text at times alludes to despair, longing, regret, and various other ailments of existence, the weave of the patterned wallpaper nods to the inevitability of our connection, our interdependence, and our societal...

Artwork