Alex Couwenberg

My paintings are a product of my obsession over process. Applying paint to a surface and the experiences that occur while creating an image are the purest form of motivation. The subject matter in my work comes from a deep appreciation of the aesthetic associated with Southern California culture. Born and raised in Los Angeles and Orange County I was exposed to many of the visual elements that create the So Cal terrain. For example, the paint, pin striping, and finish associated with hot rod and custom car culture. Mid-century design, furniture, and architecture, surf and skateboard culture, color and graphics, geometric and hard-edge abstraction, and the love of craft and technique all fuel the work. The paintings themselves diagram the process of paint application and the interpretation of how these influences manifest themselves in the form of shape, color, texture, and space. Each painting becomes an experience of constantly juxtaposing elements and forms within a composition attempting to arrive at a relationship between balance, tension, and harmony. The ideas of geometry and the placement of forms within a picture plane are crucial in the picture making process and expose themselves in the form of hard edged compositions that suggest a complete and precise control of both medium and image. Alex Couwenberg 2009

b. 1967, Upland, CA Education 1997 MFA, Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, CA 1995 BFA, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA Awards 2007 Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grant Solo Exhibitions
2009 "Verve" Gilman Contemporary, Ketchum, ID
"A Bit Left of All Right," William Turner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
"New Paintings," Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2008 “Working Space,” Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO
“Bypassing Referents,” Markel Fine Arts, New York, NY
2007 “Cosmetically, Aesthetically, Unregrettably,” d.e.n. Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA “New Paintings,” Gilman Contemporary, Ketchum, ID “New Paintings,” Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA 2006 “New Paintings,” Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
“Black Labeled,” Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA
“Alex Couwenberg: a ten year evolution,” University Gallery, CSUS, Turlock, CA
2005 “de Stad,” Markel Fine Arts, New York, NY “Metropolitan”, 455 Market Street Lobby Gallery, San Francisco, CA “tussenruimte”, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2004 “Primo,” Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2003 "Paintings,” Gensler, San Francisco, CA “Paintings; a seven year survey,” Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA 2002 "New Paintings," Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2001 “New Paintings," Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1999 "New Paintings," Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 1997 “The Hot Rod Series," East Gallery, Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, CA 1996 "New Paintings," Dillingham/Caples Gallery, Claremont, CA Selected Group Exhibitions 2008 “Liquid Light,” Museum of Design Art and Architecture, Culver City, CA
“Between the Lines,” William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
“15 Years, 15 Artists,” Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA “Art Auction 100,” Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA
“The Finish Fetish,” Melissa Morgan Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
“Keeping It Straight,” Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA “Works on Paper,” Gilman Contemporary, Ketchum, ID 2007 “West Coast Abstraction,” Peter Blake Galley, Laguna Beach, CA
“Liquid Light,” DBA256, Pomona, CA
“Off the Grid,” William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
“Paintings Edge,” Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA “Inland Emperors,” DBA256, Pomona, CA Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
“Inaugural Exhibition,” Gilman Contemporary, Ketchum, ID “Summer Group Show,” Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA “Art Auction 12,” Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA “Venice Art Walk,” Venice, CA “Decade,” Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA “Out of Line,” Cal State Stanislaus, University Gallery, Turlock, CA “Grey Scale,” Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
“Art Auction = Stimulus,” Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA “Let There Be Light,” Phantom Galleries, Los Angeles, CA 2006 “Aligning With Abstract Los Angeles,” d.e.n. Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA “Landscape Perspectives,” Art + Industry, Palm Springs, CA
“Summer Abstraction,” Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA “Monotype,” d.e.n. Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA
“2nd Gwang Hwa Moon International Arts Festival,” Sejong Center, Seoul, Korea
“Flow: Fine Lines on Water,” Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA “Flow: Fine Lines on Water,” Lisa Coscino Gallery, Pacific Grove, CA “Recent Acquisitions,” Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA “Border Crossing,” Sopa Fine Arts, British Columbia, Canada “Out of Line,” Parks Exhibition Center, Idyllwild Arts Academy, Idyllwild, CA 2005 “Inaugural Exhibition,” Sopa Fine Arts, British Columbia, Canada “A Common Thread,” Soho Myriad, Atlanta, GA “Out of Line,” Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA “Out of Line,” Brandstater Gallery, La Sierra University, Riverside, CA “Abstract Los Angeles”, Louisiana Tech University Galleries, Ruston, LA “Art Auction 11”, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA “Theories: LA Paint,” Post, Los Angeles, CA “Venice Art Walk”, Venice, CA
“Monothon, 2005,” Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA
2004 “Luster,” Gensler, San Francisco, CA “Abstract Work from the Permanent Collection,” Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA “Continental Divide: LA/NYC,” Planet Thailand, Brooklyn, NY “Abstract Los Angeles,” Soho Myriad, Atlanta, GA “20th Anniversary Exhibition,” Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 2003 “No Chaser; Straight Ahead Abstract Painting,” Post, Los Angeles, CA “Group Show,” Dolby/Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA ”Black and White,” Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA "New Paintings," Soho Myriad, Atlanta, GA “Venice Art Walk,” Venice, CA “Art Auction 10,” Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA 2002 "California Dream," Il Museo I Magli di Sarezzo, Brescia, Italy "Summer Group Show," Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA "Sam Maloof and Friends," dA Center for the Arts, Pomona, CA 2001 "New American Paintings Group Show," OSP Gallery/Open Studio Press, Boston, MA "Homage: Roland Reiss," Claremont Graduate School alumni show, dA Center for the Arts, Pomona, CA "Art Auction 9," Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA "Monothon, 2001," Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA "Sequence," Mt. San Antonio College Art Gallery, Walnut, CA 2000 "Art 2000: Applauding Revolutionary Talent," Millard Sheets Gallery, Pomona, CA 1999 "Faculty Exhibition," Mt. San Antonio College Art Gallery, Walnut, CA "Faculty Exhibition," Chaffey College, Ontario Museum of Art, Ontario, CA 1998 "Six Gallery Artist," Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA "Synchronicity," Mt. San Antonio College Art Gallery, Walnut, CA
"Contemporary Works of the Ruth Bachofner Gallery," Antelope Valley College, Lancaster, CA
1997 "Convergent Abstraction," Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA "L.A. Emerging," Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta, GA "Art Auction 6," Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA "3 Weeks in L.A.," Richard Heller Gallery, Los Angeles, CA "Recent Paintings," Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta, GA
“Fringe of the Fringe,” dA Gallery Benefit Art Auction, dA Center for the Arts, Pomona, CA
1996 “42.2 - CGS to Paradiso,” Gallery Paradiso, Newport Beach, CA
“Painting and Sculpture,” Art Center Alumni Show, Thousand Oaks Municipal Art Gallery, Thousand Oaks, CA
1995 “Raw Data,” East Gallery, Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, CA 1994 "Recent Work," Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA "Youth Culture," Lava Room, Costa Mesa, CA Selected Public Collections California State University, Stanislaus, Turlock, CA Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, MO Georgia Tech University, Atlanta, GA Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA Selected Corporate Collections
AIG, New York, NY
Apax Partners, Menlo Park, CA Balboa Bay Club, Newport Beach, CA Baoa Resort, China Bellagio Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV Claiborn and Barksdail, Atlanta, GA The Clift Hotel, San Francisco, CA Colonial Hotel, Laguna Beach, CA Filmore Heritage Center, San Francisco, CA Fletcher Jones Mercedes Benz, Newport Beach, CA Genentech, San Francisco, CA Hotel Commonwealth, Boston, MA Bank Julius Baer, Los Angeles, CA Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV Mandarin Hotel, Manhattan, NY McKenna, Long, & Aldridge, Atlanta, GA Metropolitan Hotel, Manhattan, NY MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Conn Museum Towers @ Centennial Hill, Atlanta, GA Neiman Marcus Collection, Beverly Hills, CA / San Francisco, CA Nishiumeda, Tokyo, Japan Nordstrom, Honolulu, HI / Detroit, MI/ Miami, FL Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, Menlo Park, CA Our Lucaya Resort, Grand Bahama Island Red Rock Resort, Las Vegas, NV Riverhorse Investment, Los Angeles, CA Roll International, Los Angeles, CA Suncal Inc., Irvine, CA Verisign, San Francisco, CA Wadsworth Publishing Company 1st Born Entertainment, Santa Monica, CA Selected Private Collections Seymour Alban, Long Beach, CA E. Anne Alfred, London, England Ruth and Herman Bachofner, Beverly Hills, CA Chris and Jerry Baker, Newport Beach, CA Karl Benjamin, Claremont, CA Sharon and Bill Bentley, Claremont, CA Peter Blake, Newport Beach, CA Andrea Boerries, Los Altos Hills, CA Martin Brest, Pacific Palisades, CA Joy and Todd Caniglia, San Francisco, CA Katherine T. Carter, New York Antonella and Marco Casentini, Milan, Italy Lisa Chadwick, San Francisco, CA Mark Crawford, Los Angeles, CA Billie Crockford, Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, UK Evelyne Canus, Basel, Switzerland Wes Dahlberg, Winnetka, CA Diana Daniels, Sacramento, CA Dean Decocker. Turlock, CA Susan de la Parra, Long Beach, CA Susanne Faulstich and Tom Manley, Claremont, CA Peter Frank, Los Angeles, CA John Arnold Garcia, Santa Ana, CA Jimi Gleason, Costa Mesa, CA Mat Gleason, Los Angeles, CA Michael Greer, Long Beach, CA Jodi and Shannon Haddad, Aliso Viejo, CA Barbara Hall, Los Angeles, CA Scott Hall, Atlanta, GA Sarah Hall, Atlanta, GA Steve Hansen, Long Beach, CA James Harlan, Venice, CA Todd Hays, Studio City, CA Andrea and Ron Hein, Los Angeles, CA Sherry and Richard Hilliard, Chino Hills, CA Alicia Ide, Hacienda Heights, CA Laila Abdul Jawad and Abdul Aziz, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Bernard Jazzar, Los Angeles, CA Elyn Karash and Ed Mullmeister, Studio City, CA Loretta and Victor Kaufman, Malibu, CA Barbara Kerwin, Los Angeles, CA Robert Kingston, Altadena, CA Jono Kohan, Santa Monica, CA David Lafaille, Los Angeles, CA Carlin and John La Porta, Long Beach, CA Pamela Lauesen and George Goad, North Hollywood, CA Beverly and Sam Maloof, Alta Loma, CA Slavin Marsory, Tucson, AZ Sue Mitchell, Riverside, CA Donna and Michael Napper, Culver City, CA Margareth Reckling, Houston, TX Roland Reiss, Los Angeles, CA Antoinette and Espriella Ruiz, Carson, CA Paula and Russell Rogers, Atlanta, GA Camille Sanders and Tom Powell, Riverside, CA Steve Schmidt, Long Beach, CA Mr. and Mrs. Schoenfeld, Southampton, NY Bonnie and Steve Scudder, Alta Loma, CA Erica and Nathan Sevilla, New York, NY Maria Sharapova, Manhatten Beach, CA Sue and Rich Simonin, Riverside, CA Holly Tempo, Los Angeles, CA Wayne Thomas, La Jolla, CA Francine Travers, Beverly Hills, CA Jane and Bill Wells, Santa Ynez, CA Jeff Widman, Hermosa Beach, CA Alison Williams, Pacific Palisades, CA Patrick Wilson, Los Angeles, CA Bibliography
Myers, Holly, Los Angeles Times, January 30, 2009
Harris, Freddie, Sun Valley Magazine, "Gallery Openings," Winter 2008 California Home and Design, "Art and Antiques," September 2008 Gay, Malcolm, Riverfront Times, "St. Louis Art Capsules," May 20, 2008 Grossman, Emily, Art and Living, "The Straight Take", March 20, 2008
The New York Sun, “Brother Culture” January 25, 2008 Biller, Steven, Palm Springs Life, “Critics Pick,” January, 2008 Davies, Stacy, IE Weekly, “Everything Old Is New Again,” January 17, 2008 Myers, Holly, Los Angeles Times, “Like 50’s lounge music, remixed,” August 17, 2007 Gleason, Mat, ArtScene, July/August 2007 Artdaily.org, July 2007 Tibbitz, Ashley, Flavorpill, July 17-23, 2007 ARTltd., “Pulse,” July 2007 Bossick, Karen, Wood River Journal, “Buzzer, Gilman Contemporary”, August 1, 200 Carasso, Roberta, Coast Magazine, September, 2007 Frank, Peter, LA Weekly, “Grids Unlocked,” Art Pick of the Week, June 6, 2007 Jit Fong Chin, SqueezeOC, “Grey Matters”, January, 2007 Walsh, Daniella, Orange County Register, “Shades of Gray”, January 14, 2007 Carasso, Roberta, Laguna News Post, “Artwaves” January 4, 2007 Walsh, Daniella, Riviera Magazine, “The Radar Art” January, 2007 Rupe, Cynthia, SqueezeOC, Picks of the Week, January 4, 2007 Mckenna, John Page, Palm Springs Life, Winter/Spring 2007 Melrod, George, Art Ltd., “Culver City: Chelsea West?” October, 2006 Cripps, Mick, Lifescapes, “Artist Profile,” September, 2006 Allen, Bobbie, Coastline Pilot, “Seven Abstractionists for summer,” July 6, 2006 Frank, Peter, LA Weekly, “Art Pick of the Week,” October 2005 Muckenfuss, Mark, Press Enterprise, Riverside Museum Monothon Event, September, 2005 Simou, Alexandra, New York Sun, January 26, 2005 Kugelman, Kerry, Art Circles, fall 2004 Cullum, Jerry, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Review, August 29, 2004 Gilbert, Debora, Greenline, March, 2004 Gleason, Mat, Artscene, February, 2004 Frank, Peter, LA Weekly, “Art pick of the week,” February, 2004 Novick, La Rue, Daily Bulletin, February, 2004 Litz, Paige, Los Angeles Times, “Going Beneath the Surface,” October 10, 2003 Moyle, Andrew, 210 Magazine, October, 2003 Nelson, Harold, Director, Long Beach Museum of Art, Statement, 2002 Alfred, E. Anne, Asst. Director, Riverside Museum of Art, Statement, 2002 Dennison, Lisa, New American Paintings, vol. 37, 2001-02 Roth, Charlene, Artweek, "Alexander Couwenberg at Ruth Bachofner Gallery," March, 2001 Frank, Peter, LA Weekly, "Art pick of the week," January, 2001 Johnstone, Mark, "ART 2000: Applauding Revolutionary Talent, Millard Sheets Gallery Catalog Visiting Artist / Lecturer Paintings Edge, Idyllwild Arts Academy, Idyllwild, CA Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles, CA California State University Stanislaus, Turlock, CA Idyllwild Arts Academy, Idyllwild, CA Millard Sheets Gallery, Pomona, CA