Who is Kent Alexander?   And why is he painting himself over and over again in a multitude of guises?  

Bay area painter Kent Alexander's new body of work is a "realistic" look at the self. Here he uses his own likeness as a means to explore inner and outer relationships. Previous works utilized art historical subject matter including still lives and portraiture, but in a much different style.   In this series, Alexander continues to mine his interest in the work of the past, especially the self-portraits of Max Beckmann, medieval painting styles, and the figure/ground relationships in the work of Francis Bacon.   But now he takes matters into his own hands and visage--literally exploring the world through multiple sets of his own eyes and the extensive cast of characters that reside inside his head.

Alexander asks the age-old question of what or who makes up the self, but he does so in a refreshingly contemporary and poignant way. In these oil paintings on canvas the artist explores relations and relationships curious and complicated and sets the stage for in-depth conversations.   The viewer is intrigued to actively participate in the drama, contemplating each set-up and its underlying messages.  

Fact and fiction blur as characters come onto each carefully articulated picture frame. The images come from photographs taken by the artist, so the element of chance or surprise adds to the psychological and visual complexity of the compositions. In these poses the artist, using simple color and form (and his own figure) opens up his emotions, conflicts, and psyche. The use of the shadow, an important element in these works, adds another character into the play.  

Alexander's everyman stands before The Committee, addresses his own Ego, engages in a Dispute , relishes a Point Made, at times remains Offstage, and plaintively wonders if That is the Question.   The characters in these dramas appear on the surface to be all of the artist, but are they really?   Alexander believes that we are all made up of a multitude of personas--people that emerge and disappear during the course of our lives--and yet through it all, we manage to retain a sense of ourselves.   In these works the artist's avatar, his character, or characterization, reflects on the self to get to the "other" (whatever or whoever that may be).

By probing his own visage, Alexander asks what's behind the handkerchief, the curtain, the skin veneer, exploring how this self/other is both maintained and contested. He mirrors conscious fears and uncertainties and questions the place of the self in our complex times.   Memory, reality, past, present, and future dissolve and again coalesce as our imagination interprets and yields to the scenes taking place before our eyes.  

But where is the protagonist in all of this you may ask. Who's inside the smock making these points, and to what ends?   And that, fellow viewers, is the real question.

Amy Berk
San Francisco, California