ALEX ISRAEL: PUBLIC BILLBOARD
Press Release
Alex Israel Public Billboard
Produced by LAXART Public Initiatives in conjunction with Art Production Fund
Located at Sunset Boulevard and Olive Drive, West Hollywood
Presented by the City of West Hollywood
Alex Israel’s billboard located at Sunset Boulevard and Olive Drive in West Hollywood features a self-portrait of the artist concurrently with his exhibition Lens on view at LAXART. Alex Israel's billboard is produced by LAXART Public Initiatives and ForYourArt - Los Angeles Public Domain (LAPD), in conjunction with Art Production Fund.
Lens is Los Angeles born and based artist Alex Israel’s first sculpture that has been made, not rented. The sculpture’s industrially machined form, high-polished plastic materiality and relationship to the Southern California sunshine link it to the history of LA art and design: the Finish Fetish or Cool School, Light and Space, Aerospace and Oliver Peoples. Works by Larry Bell, Robert Irwin and DeWain Valentine in particular come to mind, yet Israel’s work is not abstract.
In 2012, Israel’s Freeway sunglasses became part of his signature look for As It Lays, a televisual talk-show made for the internet in which the artists asks twenty questions each to a series of LA residents he terms “groundbreakers, iconoclasts, eccentrics.” In As It Lays, Israel’s sunglasses are key to the construction of the artist’s inscrutable image.
Lens, as a presence, is imposing and immovable, a monument to LA cool. It is simultaneously reflective and transparent, a self-evident work that meditates on life under a constant, perfect sun.
About the Artist
Alex Israel received a BA from Yale University and his MFA from USC in 2010. His work was included in the 2010 California Biennial at OCMA, and the 2012 Venice Beach Biennial, part of “Made in LA” organized by the Hammer in collaboration with LA>
ABOUT LAXART
Founded in 2005, LAXART is a leading independent nonprofit contemporary art space in Los Angeles, committed to the production of experimental exhibitions and public art initiatives. Responding to Los Angeles’ cultural climate, LAXART produces and presents new work for all audiences and offers the public access to the next generation of artists and curators. LAXART supports challenging work, reflecting the diversity of the city and stimulates conversations on contemporary art in Los Angeles, fostering dynamic relationships between art, artists and their audiences. Since 2005, LAXART has produced and commissioned over 200 exhibitions, public initiatives, and projects. In 2014, LAXART will launch its Vision Campaign including The Occasional – a city wide exhibition and public art initiative. This platform for LA continues the organization’s ongoing commitment to supporting artistic and curatorial freedom while focusing on commissioning new work in experimental contexts.
ABOUT LAPD
LA Public Domain encompasses LAXART’s public art initiatives with support from ForYourArt. Furthering LAXART’s mission of bringing new art to new audiences, L.A.P.D. produces and presents artistic and curatorial interventions in experimental contexts. This initiative expands LAXART’s commitment to artists by providing a platform and support for ambitious and critical public interventions that address diverse audiences and respond directly to the complexities that mold contemporary urban spaces.
ABOUT ART PRODUCTION FUND
Art Production Fund is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to commissioning and producing ambitious public art projects, reaching new audiences and expanding awareness through contemporary art. www.artproductionfund.org
LAXART’s programs are made possible with the generous support of Brenda Potter, The Pasadena Art Alliance, Rosette Delug, Mark Fletcher, Fred Fisher, Mark Goldstein, Ron Handler, Jennifer Hawks, Bettina Korek, Candace Nelson, Peter Remes, Adam Singer, Lisa Schiff, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Art Production Fund, The National Endowment for the Arts, The Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and The City of Los Angeles’ Department of Cultural Affairs. Special thanks to Sima Familant, Amy Drezner and Ray Reveles at Reverse Modeling, Montclair, CA.
