Michel Alexis

Lives and works in Marly-le-Roi, France

Artist statement

Rhizome Series In botany, a rhizome is a thick underground stem of plants whose buds develop new roots and shoots, such as ginger, hops or lotus. The rhizome is also for me an “image of thought” which emphasizes fluidity and multiplicity. The movement of the rhizome resists organisation, instead favoring a nomadic system of growth and propagation. The idea of the rhizome translates visually as a free association of signs, words, color, symbols, therefore, as an image of the unconscious. Not unlike automatic writing, my paintings start off with an almost blind process : I trace thin cuts with an engraving tool through a thick build-up of canvas, paper and glue; then liquid color will run through the creases and tears and spread into unexpected blots and shapes. Like a migrant a rhizome has no permanent root, and develops in unlikely places. Born in Paris, having travelled extensively and spent a large part of my life in New York, I feel I have been part of a whirlwind of cultures. Europe though, often raises its heavy head, and plunges again with the graceful arc of an arabesque. “A root is always a discovery. We dream it more than we see it” —G. Bachelard

Artwork