Alex Arcadia
Encyclopedia
Alex Arcadia is an American
painter
, sculptor and conceptual artist whose work is compared to Jeff Koons
, Hans Bellmer
, Andy Warhol
and Constantin Brâncuşi
.
His self-titled cosmology
"Arcadia" provides the framework for his large scale paintings, sculptures and installations
, which engage audiences as both post-Warholian pop, and deviant in the readymade tradition of Marcel Duchamp
.
Arcadia is best known for his "SuperGymnast" image, an erotically charged goddess
and recurring central figure of power in his work. In the mid-1990s the SuperGymnast was planted by the tens of thousands throughout the streets of New York City
as a tag
, quickly making the symbol
synonymous with the identity of the artist.
Arcadia debuted the SuperGymnast as sculpture atop his "Temple of Fame" (1999–2000). Artifacts from "Temple of Fame" were featured in his first New York
solo exhibition at Stefan Stux Gallery in 2001 entitled "SuperGymnast", reviewed in the New York Times.
Arcadia plays a minuscule role in filmmaker Ondi Timoner
's 2007 documentary The Bubble, a film centered around the millennial art and performance event called Quiet, which was produced by Arcadia's friend, collector, and internet figure Josh Harris
, and took place in downtown Manhattan
(1999–2000) during the last days of the dot-com boom
.
Alex Arcadia continues to define a new mythology
He lives and works in New York City
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
, sculptor and conceptual artist whose work is compared to Jeff Koons
Jeff Koons
Jeffrey "Jeff" Koons is an American artist known for his reproductions of banal objects—such as balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror finish surfaces....
, Hans Bellmer
Hans Bellmer
Hans Bellmer was a German artist, best known for the life-sized pubescent female dolls he produced in the mid-1930s. Historians of art and photography also consider him a Surrealist photographer.-Biography:...
, Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
and Constantin Brâncuşi
Constantin Brancusi
Constantin Brâncuşi was a Romanian-born sculptor who made his career in France. As a child he displayed an aptitude for carving wooden farm tools. Formal studies took him first to Bucharest, then to Munich, then to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris...
.
His self-titled cosmology
Cosmology
Cosmology is the discipline that deals with the nature of the Universe as a whole. Cosmologists seek to understand the origin, evolution, structure, and ultimate fate of the Universe at large, as well as the natural laws that keep it in order...
"Arcadia" provides the framework for his large scale paintings, sculptures and installations
Installation art
Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...
, which engage audiences as both post-Warholian pop, and deviant in the readymade tradition of Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. Considered by some to be one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Duchamp's output influenced the development of post-World War I Western art...
.
Arcadia is best known for his "SuperGymnast" image, an erotically charged goddess
Goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In some cultures goddesses are associated with Earth, motherhood, love, and the household. In other cultures, goddesses also rule over war, death, and destruction as well as healing....
and recurring central figure of power in his work. In the mid-1990s the SuperGymnast was planted by the tens of thousands throughout the streets of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
as a tag
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
, quickly making the symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
synonymous with the identity of the artist.
Arcadia debuted the SuperGymnast as sculpture atop his "Temple of Fame" (1999–2000). Artifacts from "Temple of Fame" were featured in his first New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
solo exhibition at Stefan Stux Gallery in 2001 entitled "SuperGymnast", reviewed in the New York Times.
Arcadia plays a minuscule role in filmmaker Ondi Timoner
Ondi Timoner
Ondi Timoner is an American film director, producer and editor.-History:Ondi Timoner is the only director to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival twice. Born in Miami, Florida, Timoner graduated cum laude from Yale University, with a double major in American Studies and Theater...
's 2007 documentary The Bubble, a film centered around the millennial art and performance event called Quiet, which was produced by Arcadia's friend, collector, and internet figure Josh Harris
Josh Harris (internet)
Josh Harris is the founder of JupiterResearch and Pseudo.com, a live audio and video webcasting website founded in 1993, which filed for bankruptcy following the end of the dot-com bubble in 2000....
, and took place in downtown Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
(1999–2000) during the last days of the dot-com boom
Dot-com bubble
The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...
.
Alex Arcadia continues to define a new mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
He lives and works in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.