Alex White

Traffic Lights, Pastel on Paper, 20×26

Side by Side, Mixed Media on Paper, 14×17

Pencil and Pastel, 20×30 paperboard

Artist Statement

Through expressionism, my work intends to communicate energies and questions that are nestled within our everyday surroundings, yet uncovered only in glimpses and moments. My work begins with a questioning of a temporal communication or detection of a striving connection made with my surroundings in a certain moment. I am using pastels, pencil, oil paint, watercolor and mixed media to explore the reflection of these sensations; recreating the city in a language of line and color that speaks to that moment of mystery and clarity. I am questioning the city – how it relates to us as a human form, a collection of humanity, a source of inspiration and energy.

The city, as a collection of energy and humanity is a source from which we all draw or can draw, and its’ synergies and metaphysical phenomenon allow us to experience life in parallel to others and experience collective emotions. But as a consequence how does this reality affect our mentality and reflection, both individually and as a society/culture, and ultimately instill itself in our identities.

The city as the mental construct of a built, social and natural environment, changes and morphs in relation to our state of mind. When one closes their eyes, everything we associate with the city, in this case New York, can vanish; we can take ourselves anywhere. Yet in the moment we open our eyes we are flooded with the associations, emotions and self-identification that is our place and connection to the city. What is this connection and what does this tell us about ourselves, as both a social and imaginative people?

We must push these notions by examining our environment further to better understand ourselves as it is our imagination, systemization, fear, and humanity that we instill in our built environment, and it is under different lights, hours and mettles that the city changes, just like its creators. Creating a language that can stimulate and explore this dialogue is my challenge.

When people see my work, I’d like them to leave more imaginative, curious and sensitive to their surroundings, and more inquisitive of how we are and how we bend with the temperament and air of the city.

Website

http://alxwyt.blogspot.com/