Alex Israel

Alex Israel (born October 1982) is an American multimedia artist, writer, and designer from Los Angeles. His work includes large, colorful airbrushed paintings of abstract gradients and Los Angeles skies, his self-portraits, painted on shaped fiberglass panels, and multimedia installations constructed from movie-house props.

Alex Israel
Born15 October 1982 October 1982 (age 40–41)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
EducationYale University (BA)
University of Southern California (MFA)

Early life and education

The son of a real estate developer, Israel was born at UCLA Medical Center.[1] He grew up in Westwood alongside two sisters. He attended Harvard-Westlake School in Studio City before completing his undergraduate studies at Yale University in 2003.[2] His first summer back from Yale, he worked part-time as an intern for the conceptual artist John Baldessari, and for Ann Goldstein, who was a curator at MOCA at the time. Later, he worked as an assistant at the gallery Blum & Poe before moving to New York City to work at Sotheby's auction house.[3] After working for the artist Jason Rhoades, followed by a brief stint as a salesperson for Hauser & Wirth. He went on to receive a M.F.A. from the University of Southern California’s Roski School of Fine Arts in 2010.[4]

Work

Early in his career, Israel maintained a studio at 3113 Beverly Boulevard in Filipinotown.[5] Since 2016, he has been working from a 980 m2 (10,600 sq ft) studio at Warner Bros.’ Burbank backlot, designed by Johnston Marklee & Associates.[6][7]

AS IT LAYS

Between July 2011 and May 2012, Israel produced a web series called, "AS IT LAYS," in which he interviews 33 LA celebrities. The diverse group of subjects includes Rachel Zoe, Oliver Stone, Perez Hilton, Michael Chow, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Marilyn Manson. The first thirty videos were shot in the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, and on location at the subjects’ homes and offices. The series premiered during an exhibition at Reena Spauldings Fine Art March 11 through April 8, 2012. The first thirty videos were released online.[8]

On May 19, 2012, The MOCA LA presented the series as a special one-night screening and performance event. In between screenings of video portraits, Israel created three additional interviews with surprise guests Laird Hamilton, Molly Ringwald and Melanie Griffith, in front of the live audience.[9]

Easter Island Venice Beach

From July 13–15, 2012, "Easter Island Venice Beach" was erected in the recreational area of Venice Beach as part of the Hammer Museum’s Venice Beach Biennial. Curated by Ali Subotnik,[10] the installation plays off the Easter Island statues in the southeastern Pacific Island.[11] Israel says that he was inspired when he found four giant replicas of the sculptures at a prop house in Hollywood a few years earlier.[12]

Rough Winds

The first of his video series, produced in 2010, invites viewers to "watch and follow the lives of jaded young adults as they navigate the golden light and melancholic shadows of life in the magical dreamscape of Los Angeles."[13] The dialogue-free series is composed of a trailer and ten clips between two and six minutes long.

SPF-18

Israel directed SPF-18, a feature-length teen surf film and multi-platform project, which was written by Michael Berk[14] and released on both Netflix and the ITunes Store on September 29, 2017. It featured Noah Centineo in a starring role in addition to Molly Ringwald,[15] as well as cameos by Keanu Reeves and Pamela Anderson.[16]

Work with Bret Easton Ellis

In 2016, Israel and Bret Easton Ellis worked together on a set of collaborative paintings, taking samples of Ellis’s text and laying them across stock images of Los Angeles that Israel selected and purchased the licensing to.[17][18]

Other activities

From 2010, Israel designed a line of sunglasses called Freeway Eyewear, that he sold online as well as at Barneys New York and Gagosian Gallery in New York.[19] In 2018, he launched Infrathin, a casual clothing line named for the term coined by Marcel Duchamp.[20]

In 2019, Israel collaborated with German luggage maker Rimowa on creating a 20-foot-tall replica of a Rimowa roller suitcase.[21][22] In 2020, he worked with Louis Vuitton on designing the packaging of three fragrances.[23][24]

Collections

Work by Israel is included in the collections of the Moderna Museet, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, MOCA, LACMA, Whitney Museum of American Art, MoMA, The Jewish Museum, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and Astrup Fearnley Museet.[25]

Personal life

Israel lives on Sunset Boulevard.[26]

References
  1. Gary Baum (22 January 2016), L.A.’s Most Sought-After Artist Works Out of Warner Bros.’ Backlot “Like a Trojan Horse” The Hollywood Reporter.
  2. Baun, Gary, L.A.'s Most Sought-After Artist Works Out of Warner Bros.' Backlot "Like a Trojan Horse," Hollywood reporter.com
  3. "Fashion, Celebrities, Parties & Art". W Magazine. May 16, 2017. Archived from the original on November 16, 2016. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  4. Fund, Art Productuion. "ALEX ISRAEL". Art Production Fund. Archived from the original on July 7, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  5. Nate Freeman (2 June 2023), How David Zwirner Turned a Forgotten Block in LA Into Prime Real Estate Vanity Fair.
  6. Alex Israel Studio Johnston Marklee & Associates.
  7. Gary Baum (22 January 2016), L.A.’s Most Sought-After Artist Works Out of Warner Bros.’ Backlot “Like a Trojan Horse” The Hollywood Reporter.
  8. "As It Lays : Alex Israel" (PDF). Reenaspaulings.com. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  9. "As It Lays". As It Lays. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  10. Easter Island Venice Beach video, Easterislandvenicebeach.com
  11. "Chile's No. 1 Tailored and Vacations Travel Agent > " Easter Island". LetsGoChile. February 22, 1999. Archived from the original on June 3, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  12. School of Doodle, The Weird Places That Have Inspired Alex Israel Archived November 18, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, Medium.com
  13. "Rough Winds". Roughwinds.com. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  14. Gary Baum (22 January 2016), L.A.’s Most Sought-After Artist Works Out of Warner Bros.’ Backlot “Like a Trojan Horse” The Hollywood Reporter.
  15. Bagley, Christopher, Alex Israel: Stars in his Eyes, W Magazine
  16. Gary Baum (22 January 2016), L.A.’s Most Sought-After Artist Works Out of Warner Bros.’ Backlot “Like a Trojan Horse” The Hollywood Reporter.
  17. David Pagel (21 March 2016), Review: Alex Israel and Bret Easton Ellis: Why new billboard art loses its power when seen up close Los Angeles Times.
  18. Janelle Zara (30 September 2022), Mixed media: Bret Easton Ellis and Alex Israel join forces at Gagosian Beverly Hills Wallpaper.
  19. Christina Binkley (21 February 2019), Rimowa teams up with L.A. artist Alex Israel on new suitcases Los Angeles Times.
  20. Maria Fitzpatrick (26 March 2020), Meet the man who bottled LA for LV Financial Times.
  21. William Van Meter (4 February 2019), Inside Rimowa’s L.A.-Inspired Collaboration With Artist Alex Israel Wall Street Journal.
  22. Christina Binkley (21 February 2019), Rimowa teams up with L.A. artist Alex Israel on new suitcases Los Angeles Times.
  23. Maria Fitzpatrick (26 March 2020), Meet the man who bottled LA for LV Financial Times.
  24. Elly Parsons (18 October 2022), Louis Vuitton bottles LA summertime into three new fragrances Wallpaper.
  25. Alex Israel Biography, gagosian.com
  26. Gary Baum (22 January 2016), L.A.’s Most Sought-After Artist Works Out of Warner Bros.’ Backlot “Like a Trojan Horse” The Hollywood Reporter.
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