Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 5

Unknown
Light Waves, Acrylic and Airbrush on Canvas Painting by Alex Blau, 2016

2016

$3,500
£2,598.93
€3,052.32
CA$4,869.48
A$5,451.87
CHF 2,858.60
MX$67,361.26
NOK 36,020.08
SEK 34,001.52
DKK 22,774.03
Shipping
Retrieving quote...
The 1stDibs Promise:
Authenticity Guarantee,
Money-Back Guarantee,
24-Hour Cancellation

About the Item

Light Waves, Acrylic and Airbrush on Canvas Painting by Alex Blau, 2016 Additional information: Medium: Acrylic and airbrush on canvas Dimension: 24 x 24 in (61 × 61 cm) About artist: Alex Blau’s geometric paintings draw from a variety of sources and have unexpected associations. By variously utilizing graphic languages associated with things like disposable consumer goods, computer generated architectures and unfolding mandalas, Blau’s work both points to abstraction’s open-ended possibility and highlights its incorporation into mass culture. Ellsworth Kelly, Jeff Koons, and cellophane snack packaging are just a few of the unlikely inspirations for Alex Blau’s glossy paintings. Her small-scale, soft – edged works are made by pouring layer upon layer of clear acrylic over alternating layers of airbrushed patterning. The built-up acrylic lacquer gives the surface of the painting depth; so that on close inspection we can distinguish the suspended layers of paint from each other and thereby recreate the artist’s process. Blau’s use of shaped canvases in combination with her process of essentially embedding paint in clear acrylic reinforces the sculptural quality of her paintings. This strategy of emphasizing the material aspects of the painting over the pictorial ones link her work to painters such as Kelly and Frank Stella, who downplay illusionary space and emphasize the physicality of the painting. The paintings are a surprising combination of durability and fragility. In the early stages of Blau’s process, sometimes the surfaces are damages or cracked, and the ensuing layers of acrylic lock-in the mishaps. In the end, the paintings become quite durable, but the scars remain, reminding us of their handmade origins like those of a custom-painted surfboard or an old mirror whose silver backing has begun to peel away. Blau is a fan of the aesthetics of snack packaging. One whole wall of her studio is covered in potato chip, cheese puff, and snack mix wrappers that friends have collected and mailed to her from around the globe. These colors, patterns, and designs are often starting points for her totally abstracts works. It is this shameless and gleeful meeting of high and low sources that characterizes figures like Kelly and Koons on an equal footing with snack wrappers. This is the democracy that we hope – a little reluctantly – will accompany the age of the Internet. Alex Blau has an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design and works primarily in painting. Blau has had solo shows at several venues, including Frist Center, Firecat Projects in Chicago, Gallery Seomi in Seoul, Mark Moore Gallery in Santa Monica, Kevin Bruk Gallery in Miami, Barbara Davis Gallery in Houston and the New Britain Museum of American Art. She currently teaches at Vanderbilt University and Austin Peay State University.
  • Creation Year:
    2016
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 24 in (60.96 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Orange, CA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU2793216066422

More From This Seller

View All
Untitled (light wave), Airbrush on Paper Painting by Alex Blau, 2019
Located in Orange, CA
Untitled (light wave), Airbrush on Paper Painting by Alex Blau, 2019 Additional information: Medium: Airbrush on paper Dimension: 15 x 11 in (38.1 × 27.9 cm) About artist: Alex Bla...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Paper

Slow Drift, Acrylic on Canvas Painting by Alex Blau, 2014
Located in Orange, CA
Slow Drift, Acrylic on Canvas Painting by Alex Blau, 2014 Additional information: Medium: Acrylic on canvas Dimension: 30 x 30 in (76.2 × 76.2 cm) About artist: Alex Blau’s geometr...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Corduroy, Acrylic and Airbrush on Canvas Painting by Alex Blau, 2019
Located in Orange, CA
Corduroy, Acrylic and Airbrush on Canvas Painting by Alex Blau, 2019 Additional information: Medium: Acrylic and airbrush on canvas Dimension: 24 x 24 in (61 × 61 cm) About artist:...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Time and Time Again, Airbrush and Polymer on Canvas Painting by Alex Blau, 2022
Located in Orange, CA
Time and Time Again, Airbrush and Polymer on Canvas Painting by Alex Blau, 2022 Additional information: Medium: Airbrush and Polymer on Canvas Dimension: 24 × 24 in (61 × 61 cm) Ab...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Polymer

Optical Hey, Acrylic on Canvas Painting by Alex Blau, 2014
Located in Orange, CA
Optical Hey, Acrylic on Canvas Painting by Alex Blau, 2014 Additional information: Medium: Acrylic on canvas Dimension: 30 x 30 in (76.2 × 76.2 cm) About artist: Alex Blau’s geomet...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Sky Magnet, Airbrush and Polymer on Canvas Painting by Alex Blau, 2022
Located in Orange, CA
Sky Magnet, Airbrush and Polymer on Canvas Painting by Alex Blau, 2022 Additional information: Medium: Airbrush and polymer on canvas Dimension: 16 x 20 inches About artist: Alex B...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Polymer

You May Also Like

Channels, Painting, Acrylic on Metal
By Bjorn Bauer
Located in Yardley, PA
This painting brings to mind the experience of using a digitally simulated paintbrush and the experience of trying to make a precise mark but creating a blown out mess because the se...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Tide pools and lights, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By Nestor Toro
Located in Yardley, PA
Vibrant contemporary abstract with bright color palette and ridges. Pink, purple, many shades of green, yellow, and crimson. This painting arrives mounted in a wooden frame, ready to...
Category

2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Delta Wave, Painting, Acrylic on MDF Panel
By Bjorn Bauer
Located in Yardley, PA
The strange logic of this painting reminds me of my own dreams, which are often beautifully nonsensical. :: Painting :: Contemporary :: This piece comes with an official certificat...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Water particles, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By Nestor Toro
Located in Yardley, PA
Inspired by nature, abstract painting with bold color blending, contrast and details. Textured with layers of green, blue, turquoise,some white and purple! Inspired by colors ...
Category

2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

contemporary abstract colorful acrylic painting impasto textured stripes signed
By Daniel Klewer
Located in Milwaukee, WI
'Deep Mellow Malt' is an excellent example of the paintings of Daniel Klewer, coming from his series 'Linear Tactility.' The paintings in this series all share a consistent, linearly...
Category

2010s Contemporary Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

Dimension 28, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
By Hilary Winfield
Located in Yardley, PA
Dimension 28 is an original, modern art painting from the Geometric Abstract series. This one-of-a-kind painting was created with acrylic paint on gallery-wrapped canvas. It has a wi...
Category

2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Acrylic