Alexander Adam Transforms Wood Marquetry Into Fine Art

When you first come across the artworks of Alexander Adam, they may appear to be paintings or ink washes. But in fact, they are entirely made of wood. Adam employs marquetry, a largely decorative craft whereby wood and other materials are inlaid to form a pattern or scene. He elevates this technique to the level of fine art, creating landscapes, portraits, and figurative pieces, all by fitting together various pieces of wood. “[I use] knife as brush and veneer as paint,” he says. Although Adam works in many different genres, his favorite subjects are allegorical scenes inspired by ancient mythology, to which he gives his own slightly surreal twist. He hand-cuts every piece of wood and stains the pieces with all-natural dyes and different types of veneers, creating a rich color and subtle shading on each piece of wood.

Born in Armenia, Adam worked as a graphic designer and paleontological diorama designer for the Museum of Natural History of Armenia before he decided to focus on fine art. He currently lives and works in Armenia.

Exhibition Dates: June 10, 2017  – June 30, 2017

Reception: Thursday, June 15,2017, 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Gallery Hours: Tues-Sat 11:00am – 6:00pm

Gallery Location: 530 West 25th St, Chelsea, New York

Event URL:  http://www.agora-gallery.com/artistpage/Alexander_Adam.aspx

Featured Artists:

Unbound Perspectives

Stephen Najda  |  Johanna Wray  |  Maribel Matthews  |  Saskia Weishut-Snapper  |  Ken Wada  |  Vinod More  |  Gita Levy  |  Alexander Adam  |  Shifra  |  Jolanta Talaikiene  |  Josefina Wendel Carlsson  |  Claudia C Forero  |  Carmen Félix

About the Exhibition

Unbound Perspectives

Unbound Perspectives, a group exhibition that spans new painting, photography, drawing, and even wood, opens this June at Agora Gallery. The show puts Japanese experiments with abstract textures in ink next to Mexican hyperrealistic oil portraits of real-life figures. There are fantastical manipulations of the female body in wood from Armenia and Indian contemplations of the infinite in acrylic. Side by side, the pieces challenge us to figure out what they have in common as much as they ask us how they are different. When artwork of this kind of range is presented altogether, an image of the state of contemporary art begins to emerge. Unbound Perspectives is essential viewing for anyone looking for a true survey of contemporary art that is far-reaching yet discerning.