Alex Giles | Eye-Catching, Technical Paintings
About Alex Giles
Alex Giles is an artist who lives and works in Manchester, where he moved after finishing art school in Derby. After graduation, Alex felt left without a plan, so he ended up in several dead-end jobs as a handyman on a locust farm. Eventually, his practical skills got him a job as a carpenter on a low-budget independent film. That was the start of a gratifying, rewarding career. He always wanted to create eye-catching, dynamic, technical work. But freelance in the film industry only gave him too little time to get stuff done independently. So the lockdown played a crucial role. In the summer of 2020, when the world slowly re-opened, Giles had to decide whether to continue with his painting or return to production work. He kept going, despite being pretty broke.
Work and Career
Today Alex delivers works filled with innocent and optimistic sentiments.
He found a way to communicate these feelings by playing with memories of the tactile, energetic shapes and colors of his childhood. Through the years, these memories shuffled into an extended daydream. Alex taught himself to enter a lucid, meditative state and started to extract usable reference points. His admiration for artists such as Victor Vasarely, Bridget Riley, and Michael Craig-Martin profoundly influenced his desire to paint with high accuracy and technical skills.
At a glance, Alex’s paintings may seem flat, almost printed, but on a closer examination, there are abundant layers to dive within.
His art looks almost digital at first glance, and this is, to Alex, very intentional. To him, indeed, it’s all about the technique. He designs his pieces digitally and then works backward, like a puzzle-solving.
His interest in art resides in his childhood when he would spend hours in his dad’s shed dismantling things, mixing chemicals, and playing with fire; art seemed like a legitimized way of doing this as an adult.
To Alex, images emerge from daydreams, a unique way to dive deep into little visual trips. He enters a trans and often has to commit his memory to the ideas that arise before falling asleep.
Alex enjoys going to the movies outside of art and would still like to make a film one day.
Current Exhibition in Mallorca
Alex is currently exhibiting at the Galerie Marimòn in Palma de Mallorca until March 1st, with his solo show Proactivism.
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