Park Towne Place

About the Artist 

Alex Spalding (b. 1985, Springfield, MO) is a self-taught figurative painter specializing in vibrant, stylized portraiture of women. Drawing from his love for commercial illustration and contemporary art, he merges his influences with expressive techniques and the innovative use of technology. Before dedicating himself to the visual arts in 2023, Alex was immersed in a diverse range of creative pursuits, including dance music, managing indie record labels, and writing. This multidisciplinary background continues to inform the eclectic style of his work today. Alex lives and works in Philadelphia, PA. 

Statement 

"You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves." Mary Oliver, 'Wild Geese' "Soft Animals" continues and expands upon my "Wild Side" series, a body of figurative paintings exploring human nature untamed. This exhibition reflects on Mary Oliver's vision, in her poem 'Wild Geese', of man as a creature of instinct and desire at peace with their own wildness. Her poetry and the life she led close to the natural world offer a way to think about tenderness not as weakness, but as the deepest form of courage. My overall body of work depicts women and animals as elemental forms: expressive and self-possessed, inhabiting the tense space between allure and alienation. In "Soft Animals", I show several paintings from the year up to the formation of "Wild Side", shaped by things and ideas I simply loved, that inspired and amused me.

Please join us outside the Artist Studio Gallery in the lower level of Towne Center at Park Towne Place on February 18th from 6-7:30 PM for a reception of Soft Animals and a Meet & Greet with Park Towne Place’s new Artist in Residence, Alex Spalding.