Alexis Rockman New York, USA, 1962
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Courtesy The Metropolitan Museum
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Rockman’s work masterfully combines his childhood fascination with natural history and his professional skills in animation.
B. 1962, New York, USA
Lives and works in Warren, CT, USA
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Alexis Rockman was born in New York in 1962. In 1985, he graduated from the New York School of Visual Arts, where he studied animation. The artist’s work quickly captured public attention, and from the late 1980s he started participating in numerous exhibition projects around the world. In 1998, Rockman started teaching at Columbia University (New York) and later at Harvard University, giving the lectures and master classes at other universities in the United States.
Rockman’s work masterfully combines his childhood fascination with natural history and his professional skills in animation. The central theme of his work is an exploration of the interaction between human culture and the natural world. How has the humankind influenced this world, and what would it be like without our active intervention? How would the future of the planet and its inhabitants change under the ever-increasing pressure of climate change, genetic engineering, and a total consumer society?
Rockman’s works can be naturally vivid and, at the same time, supernaturally aggressive. They capture the viewer with its powerful color, exceptional drawing technique and a deep philosophical meaning. The large-scale paintings refill the space with new energy and draw the viewer into the journey to the futuristic worlds.
SELECTED PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
Brooklyn Museum (New York, NY, USA)
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (New York, NY, USA)
Hammer Museum, University of California (Los Angeles, CA, USA)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) (Los Angeles, CA, USA) Museum of Fine Arts (Boston, MA, USA)
Olbricht Collection (Essen, Germany)
Rubell Family Collection (Miami, FL, USA)
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) (San Francisco, CA, USA) Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, NY, USA)
Zimmerli Museum, Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ, USA) -
Works
Alexis Rockman New York, USA, 1962
Soccer, 2004Oil on board244 × 302 cmFurther images
'Alexis Rockman’s 'Soccer', 2004 from his Wonderful World series, envisions a future where human intervention has radically altered the natural world. The painting blends bioengineering with Rockman’s vivid surrealist vision,...'Alexis Rockman’s 'Soccer', 2004 from his Wonderful World series, envisions a future where human intervention has radically altered the natural world. The painting blends bioengineering with Rockman’s vivid surrealist vision, showcasing hybrid creatures and landscapes that challenge conventional ideas of nature. The image evokes both wonder and unease, suggesting the unforeseen consequences of unchecked technological advancement. Through hiw work, Rockman creates a world that is strange yet oddly familiar, inviting viewers to reflect on humanity’s power to shape its own future.
“Scientists have to use the language of science; I can use the language of metaphor and I can be very blunt and subjective and say things that they can't really get away with in public.” – Alexis Rockman
Exhibitions
Alexis Rockman. Fresh Kills, Gary Tatintsian Gallery, Moscow. May–Aug 2005
'Wonderful world. Alexis Rockman', Camden Art Centre. 2004
Publications
Catalogue 'Alexis Rockman. Fresh Kills', Gary Tatintsian Gallery, Moscow, 2005. pp.16–17
Catalogue 'Wonderful world. Alexis Rockman', Camden Art Centre. 2004. pp. 20–21