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Almine Rech

Alexis McGrigg In The Beloved

Jan 19 — Feb 25, 2023 | Brussels

Inquire about the exhibition: inquiries@alminerech.com
The gallery is open from 11 am until 7 pm.

In The Beloved is the latest addition to the visual cosmology of interdisciplinary artist Alexis McGrigg. A sequence of painterly choreographies, this exhibition of new works extends the transcendent narrative she has been refining and expanding since 2015. The storytelling architecture from which these works developed concerns the artist’s personal investigations into a multiform, pluralized conception of Blackness. McGrigg’s practice encompasses painting, drawing, experimental video, and installation. These multiple approaches are channeled towards a set of artistic exercises which themselves rely on a constellation of influences across painting, literature and music. The dynamic breadth of her chosen wellsprings of information and mediums of experimentation are crucial to this assemblage of paintings at Almine Rech Brussels.

McGrigg situates herself as a multi-media abstractionist. This series of works reflects the wide net of reference points which infuse her particular style of ethereal pictorial expression. The pieces are suggestive of some of her influential touchstones, such as the variably surfaced, splattered color fields of the lyrical abstract painter Sam Gilliam and the startling blue of Yves Klein’s conceptual pigmentations. With this exhibition, the artist has electrified her familiar chromatic palette. The deep indigo, striking violet and turquoise, traces of magenta and scatterings of gold which recur throughout her practice are cast with captivating vibrancy. Fabric dyes on canvas, mixed with acrylic and charcoal, are layered to create sinuous splotches and textured compositions. Crucially, these tactile coatings are more than a passive backdrop. The chronology of her method relies on this textured, multicolored surface as a point of emergence for her abstracted figures.

Press release

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Selected artworks

  • Alexis McGrigg,                                      Come With Me, 2022

    Alexis McGrigg Come With Me, 2022

    Procion dye on canvas
    149.9 x 111.8 cm
    59 x 44 in

  • Alexis McGrigg,                                      The Waiting Room, 2022

    Alexis McGrigg The Waiting Room, 2022

    Procion dye & acrylic on canvas
    180.3 x 411.5 cm
    71 x 162 in

  • Alexis McGrigg,                                      Come With Me, 2022

    Alexis McGrigg Come With Me, 2022

    Procion dye on canvas
    149.9 x 111.8 cm
    59 x 44 in

  • Alexis McGrigg,                                      Kindred, 2022

    Alexis McGrigg Kindred, 2022

    Procion dye & gold mica powder on canvas
    172.7 x 259.1 cm
    68 x 102 in

  • Alexis McGrigg,                                      From Earth: A Guide for the Soul, 2022

    Alexis McGrigg From Earth: A Guide for the Soul, 2022

    Procion dye on canvas
    180.3 x 142.2 cm
    71 x 56 in

  • Alexis McGrigg,                                      Here After, 2022

    Alexis McGrigg Here After, 2022

    Procion dye & acrylic on canvas
    149.9 x 124.5 cm
    59 x 49 in

  • Alexis McGrigg,                                      Plurality 1, 2022

    Alexis McGrigg Plurality 1, 2022

    Procion dye & gold mica powder on canvas
    180.3 x 142.2 cm
    71 x 56 in

  • Alexis McGrigg,                                      Plurality 2, 2022

    Alexis McGrigg Plurality 2, 2022

    Procion dye & gold mica powder on canvas
    180.3 x 142.2 cm
    71 x 56 in

  • Alexis McGrigg,                                      Portrayal of the Same, 2022

    Alexis McGrigg Portrayal of the Same, 2022

    Procion dye & gold mica powder on canvas
    180.3 x 142.2 cm
    71 x 56 in

  • Alexis McGrigg,                                      Sleepers (Anunnaki), 2022

    Alexis McGrigg Sleepers (Anunnaki), 2022

    Procion dye on canvas
    149.9 x 111.8 cm
    59 x 44 in

  • Alexis McGrigg,                                      Starseeds 2, 2022

    Alexis McGrigg Starseeds 2, 2022

    Procion dye on canvas
    119.4 x 99.1 cm
    47 x 39 in