Los Angeles-based artist Alex Israel makes art for our celebrity-obsessed age—but does it run any deeper than that?
One minute Alex Israel is discussing the work of French conceptual artist Duchamp and the next he’s fangirling over Oprah. And he’s not joking. Los Angeles—and the sometimes shallow, celebrity-worshipping culture that comes with it—inspires all of Israel’s art, which regularly features palm trees, beaches and other cliched images of California.
Israel’s slick paintings and videos have won him fans all around the world—not least on Instagram, where he currently has 87,000 followers. But critics wonder whether there’s something darker lying beneath the glossy surface of his paintings.
Is Israel’s art a cynical look at Los Angeles life (and, by extension, the wealthy collectors who snap up his candy-coloured canvases paying homage to the city)? Or is Israel’s work a genuine celebration of the City of Angels? At the opening of his exhibition at Gagosian in Hong Kong, we try to find out.
You previously worked at Sotheby’s and in sales at leading galleries. A W magazine article about you referred to this and said: “the line between high art and salesmanship has never been blurrier”. Does it bother you when people use words like “salesmanship” or “branding” in relation to your work?
Branding provides valuable tools for communication in today’s world. Los Angeles is a brand, I’m a brand, and my Self-Portrait is a logo. Using this language in my work allows me to speak across borders and cultures and I don’t have any hang-ups about that at all.
