Meet Tomer Alexander, an artist directly partnered with Artspace as part of our celebrated Straight From the Studio initiative. Tomer was born in Apt, located in the South of France, to a creative family of singers and artists alike. Spending most of his life traveling and living in a bevy of gorgeous places (Marseille, Paris, New York, Cape Verde, Copenhagen), his art practice is inspired by the beauty that surrounds him. Here, we tells us about his inspiration, his process, and the works he has on Artspace.
What do you make work about?
My art comes from my identity (cultural and emotional). Therefor, my art is about reminiscence of travels I have made to different countries. It’s also about an emotion, a certain place that I want to recreate, or a society I have been living in that inspired me.
I am the grandson of a Danish painter who made art that was somewhere between cubist and abstract. I had the chance to stand by when I was nine years old and see masterpieces unfold before my eyes. When I started sketching at age 14, I was really motivated by the feeling of seeing my art unfold before my eyes.
What do you hope the viewer gains from your work?
I hope the viewer can travel within the emotions of my art.
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Can you describe your process?
First comes the idea to recreate a memory, then comes the sketch and colors. My art is about the abstract, with a lot of love for ethnology. The drawing is more spontaneous, and the oil is more thought-through. So when I start a drawing, I immerse myself in the emotion of the moment I want to recreate, then the colors come into place with a melody of their own.
Where do you find inspiration?
I usually I find my inspiration from a moment, a place, a light, people that I experience or visit during a trip (Greece, India, Israel, Africa, Cape Verde, Brazil, Provence in the South of France, etc).
The painting Praca De Se is available on Artspace for $7,500
Can you please say something about Praca De Se?
In 2012 while living in Cape Verde, I travelled to Brazil arriving by plane to Fortaleza before travelling by bus to Salvador de Bahia. I visited that old beautiful city, its historical center, the Pelourinho and then came across the street with this most renowned church, Praca da Se. I was inspired.
The work on paper L’epis De Mais 1 is available on Artspace for $2,500
Can you please say something about “L’epis De Mais 1”?
Can you please say something about “STM”?
Living in Mindelo means that you can walk the streets and at 10 or 100 meters in front of you at the opening of these street views you will have a ferry boat, or other kinds of ships docked, leaving or arriving at all times. STM was the name of a very popular ferry company with their own vessels, sailing from one island to another with lorry, people and sometimes animals such as horse or sheep.
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