Anagnorisis Project for Samantha Levin Fine Art

Anagnorisis is proud to present Alex Passapera’s solo show, “Feral“.

Artist Statement:
This current body of work is my attempt to bring to life certain ideas and inspirations that I have had over the past year. The first few pieces started out as enjoyable experiments visualizing something intangible; mainly “instinct”. I am interested in instinct and its diminishing use in our daily lives. Only in special moments to we feel something bubble up from an ancient source. I began using the predator as a template and imagined the moment instinct takes over. It becomes an explosion of gore and bone as it takes hold, without any conscious knowledge or concern, driven by nature. The mixture of realism and a cartoon-like style is used to capture the intensity of these moments.

As I progressed the stories of each piece became more complex, ranging from my own ideas about politics and religion, to relationships. I have fun with each piece and let each idea mold and refine itself on the page. No image is completely thought out before I start, the process is the most important part and I let it happen as it happens. In the end I try to keep my works animate and light, though I have had varied reactions.

The works in this show are done with Pen and Ink on Bristol Paper. I gravitated toward drawing more so than painting media, it allowed me to become very technical with my mark-making and gave me more control. Stippling is used in every piece as a form of shading and texturing, something that takes a god-awful amount of time but is worth it in the end. I have been lucky enough to work with a fantastic print maker, Mark Herschede, to create prints for most of the pieces available. Every print done for this show was first sketched on Bristol paper. The work is then inked on an emulsion covered film from the sketched image. The fact that my work is done in Pen and Ink lends itself extremely well to silk-screening and lithography. Hopefully as I continue, this will keep my work available and enjoyed by a wide range of people.

Born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey on July 15th, 1984.  He attended the Savannah College of Art and Design where he majored in Illustration and Sequential Art.  Alex now lives and works in New York, pursuing a life far away from an office cubicle.

Feral will be on view throughout the month of August.  You can view our gallery of works from the show here.  Any inquiries can be directed to Samantha Levin or Danielle Ezzo at art@artanagnorisis.com