Solid emerging talent is rare to find, but we think we've locked onto one of the best with Toronto-based artist Alex McLeod, who constructs 3D environments which investigate the tension inherent between illusionary and physical space. Alex' CGI prints of diorama-like environments present as hallucinogenic visions projected into Utopian provinces, thus addressing and exploring issues of ecology, sustainability and connectivity that are the perfect fit with the Biennial's themes. Weaving together scientific theory with virtual fantasy, folklore, and notions of the Romantic, he generates images which are as seductive and lustrous as they are urgent and vital. We don't think you'll see more tantalizing work throughout the biennial, and of course that's just a guess on our part, but what is clear from his ingenious work and the overwhelming positive response it has received is that his imagination and potential is limitless.
We recently posed a few questions to Alex relating to his work and the upcoming biennial:
1. What can you tell us about the origins of your work and where your idea for these landscapes started?
I started art school as a painter, so obviously, landscape as a genre already has a large history within that field. I think that the "medium is the message" to a degree and painting wouldn't be as apt a reflection of the issues present in my work as making CGI prints. Sometimes I'm surprised by the similarities between painting and digital renderings, but with landscapes, I always find new connections between the two media. Landscape is so present in RPG video games and the desire to escape to a previous and "pure" reality was an idea held by the Romantics. No matter who you are as an artist and when you're working, I think there's an inescapable desire to want to represent the world around you-kids drawing faces, trees, and houses, so I don't think that landscape is such an odd idea. I like that each of my works can be seen as a site of convergence (in the present) between the past and the future.
2. What have been the most important influences to you as an artist?
I think that contemporary art allows for all sorts of influences, art historical, global, technological-anything is allowed, but it still needs to be aware of its sources. It's just more interesting to figure out how an artist uses previous sources rather than just making a list, you know? We live in a remix culture, but that's not a bad thing. It's about using the world around you to make art more relevant to peoples' lives in general and seeing the overlap between, say, video games and Hieronymous Bosch. That's why I wouldn't want to be seen as just a digital artist.
3. What idea or issues do you feel your artworks most specifically address?
I would like to think that the works speak for themselves to some degree. I try to make them seem universal in a way so that viewers can engage with them, visually wander through them. I like what Jeff Wall once said, that "Art is for anyone, but not for everyone." (In Frieze April 2010)
Although the scenes presented in my artworks can be very different from one another, many of the works present eerie depopulated vistas that contain traces of human life and previous devastation. Something happened, but you're not sure what, since you're only given clues, not the whole story. That would be too easy and too narrative. From faraway, they're beautiful in their wreckage, but sometimes you might not notice the fires, the grossness, until you look at all the details up-close. Something's always changing in the scenes-melting, exploding, drifting, etcetera-everything's in flux and nothing's stable, so I don't think they're like traditional landscapes or staged dioramas in that sense.
4. I have heard your work described as candy-coated landscapes, how do relate to that in regards to your process or intentions?
They're definitely "candy-coated" in palette, but this aspect serves to offset the desolate and chaotic nature presented in the scenes. Not everything is bright and hyper-colored, though. I'm thinking of the icy landscapes and the glowing explosions that are also in the works. There's a dichotomy between the choice of palette and the dystopian scenes in order to present some glimmer of hope, but also because of how this is present in digital culture. Due to the saturation of images in the world, they are often presented as bright, colorful, and shiny, i.e. flickering .gif advertisements on websites, in order to try to win over a viewer's attention.
5. Why don't you include people into your landscapes?
I'm not against including people, but I prefer leaving traces in the landscapes that refer to life, either what was once there or might be. Some of my more recent work has some signs of life, strange creatures like "water horses" that mythologically are thought to be deceive humans into the water only to leave them to drown in the water. I think that it's scarier and more poignant to show these scenes as the aftermath of potential human destruction, as signs of what may come, in order to elucidate how my landscapes are rooted in the real world, hinting at ecological destruction, and are not just pure fantasy.
6. What might be going through the mind of someone that did live in one of your landscapes?
In my landscapes, I'm not sure if anyone could stay alive - at least not for long!
7. What is your general impression with the Canadian scene for contemporary artists? How do you feel about representing your country at a Biennial of the Americas this coming july in Denver?
I think that the Canadian scene is strong and a lot of exciting work is produced all the time. I'm flattered that I was asked to attend the Biennial of the Americas, especially since there's so many artists who have been working longer at this than me, but I'm glad that this opportunity will allow more people to see the work. Without sounding too stereotypical, I think that there's a lot of great work, but you know, it's not covered in the International press as often as it should. There's a lot of factors that contribute to this but it's a shared responsibility between artists, galleries, museums, and critics to generate interest in these artists across borders.
8. How did your upcoming shows at MOCCA and ROJO@nova come about?
The curators approached me after seeing the work in-person or online-the usual.
9. All of that press and blog attention, do you have your own PR machine or are your works so seductive that they just gain attention on their own?
Ha, I don't have my own PR machine! But I do think that it's important to get attention in the press, from critics and bloggers, in order to get more people to see the work. Also, I think that this is part of the beauty of our current climate, that through the sheer amount of social networking that the Internet allows for, you can know about and collaborate with artists the world over. Also, a lot of younger artists know how important it is to be aware of how the art "industry" has changed-think of how Jeffery Deitch's becoming Director of LAMoCA would have never happened even a few years ago.
10. Where do you see your work and career five years from now?
I just want to continue evolving and learning as an artist. I know that I won't be doing the same thing in five years as I am now. It's hard to say because I don't know how the world is going to look in five years.
11. What's your biggest or darkest secret about your art?
I do it because I can't do anything else.
As an emerging artist, Alex has received a ton of attention through blogs from all over the world, there is no doubt that his images make any computer screen as well as talent scouts from all corners look good. But he has also received a fair amount of attention for his work at a higher level from art sources, some recent press profiles can be viewed at:
Canadian Art: August, 2009
Toronto Star: August 2009
Black Flash, June 8, 2010
Design Lines, May 2010
Juxtapoz: August, 2009
Alex has a heavy slate this year, his work will be featured in the exhibition "Empire of Dreams," opening June 19th at the Museum of Canadian Contemporary Art in Toronto, as good a transition as one might have for the Biennial in Denver:
He will have two solo shows of new work shortly afterwards at the excellent Angell Gallery in Toronto starting August 28th, as well as Anno Domini in San Jose California in early September.
Alex has been turning his visual concepts into very cool animations recently, this one is based on the image "Frozen Cascade" which will be featured in our exhibition and will soon be on view as a massive billboard in the Denver Theatre District representing the biennial as well:
To see more on Alex and his work, visit his website at
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