Alex Gross

Alex Gross

The title of Alex Gross' show at the Earl McGrath Gallery, "The Decay of The Angel", is taken from the celebrated final novel of the same name written by Japanese author Yukio Mishima (1925-1970). In his large scale oil paintings on canvas, Gross explores themes laid out in the book dealing with the decay of culture and civilization. His highly crafted and detailed works include both nostalgic imagery of a lost era and a disturbing vision of the modern age. Gross' newest work continues to reflect such diverse influences as Japanese Woodblock prints, Victorian Advertising Imagery, German 'Degenerate' painting and Gothic Flemish Art. In the year 2000 he was the recipient of the prestigious artists fellowship from the Japan Foundation, for which he spent two months travelling throughout Japan. His collection of Japanese advertising imagery entitled "Japanese Beauties" was recently published by Taschen and will be available in American stores in April/May of this year. It is already available in Europe. This will be Alex's second show with the Earl McGrath Gallery, after having his works selected to be part of December 2003's "Raising the Brow" group show of today's most influential "Lowbrow" artists. In a review of the show by Holly Meyers of the Los Angeles Times, Gross earned the distinction of a special mention including a large reproduction of his painting "The Twenty". He has had two previous solo exhibitions at the Merry Karnowsky Gallery in Los Angeles, in 2000 and 2002. The artist continues to teach at Pasadena's Art Center College of Design where he has been awarded two faculty enrichment grants to research his fine art.