Alex lsrael’s (born 1982) series of Self-Portraits were developed through the evolution of a logo based on the artist's profile—an iconic representation of facial features that calls to mind the famous silhouette of Alfred Hitchcock—originally created for the video piece As It Lays, a beguiling and campy work of talk show–style interviews for which Israel cast himself as host, presented at Reena Spaulings' New York gallery in March 2012.
Hbk, 6 x 8.25 in. / 256 pgs / 201 color. | 8/22/2017 | In stock $40.00
Made with the same techniques used for manufacturing surfboards, and produced at the Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, the sculptures, through the very process of their production, reflect on the context of Los Angeles, the culture of hedonism and the cult of personality from which they spring.
Published by The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. Foreword with interview by Kevin Salatino. Text by Chris Kraus, Jan Tumlir.
Deeply entwined with his hometown, the art of Alex Israel (born 1982) explores the iconography of Los Angeles and Hollywood and the cult of celebrity. It posits LA as central to an understanding of American culture and the American dream. This book places 16 of Israel’s paintings and sculptures plus two site-specific murals among the works in the historic Huntington Art Gallery. The gallery once served as the residence of Gilded Age collectors Henry and Arabella Huntington and since 1928 has been the home for a celebrated European Art Collection. Intended to spark a dialogue between the new and the old, this intervention of Israel’s work within the gallery creates a discourse on place and identity, two things fundamental to understanding Henry Huntington’s own love of Southern California.
Published by UCCA/Koenig Books. Edited by Karen Marta, Brian Roettinger.
Alex Israel (born 1982) invites readers to join him in his ongoing exploration of mise-en-scène. Indebted to both classical painting and Hollywood set design, he has created a book where the reader can create his or her own installations using Israel's artworks. Following in the great artist book tradition of John Baldessari and Edward Ruscha, the UCCA has called on Alex Israel along with LA artists Kathryn Andrews, Aaron Curry, Matthew Monahan, Sterling Ruby, Ryan Trecartin and Kaari Upson to make individual artist books for The Los Angeles Project in Beijing.
Alex Israel at The Huntington
Alex Israel: Alex Israel's Sticker Book