Alexandra Gallagher (born 1980) is a British multidisciplinary artist. She creates paintings, collages, print, and digital and street art.
Early and personal life
Gallagher was born in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, England. Her father, an art teacher, taught her how to paint. Gallagher started painting portraits, however, she eventually felt limited and restrained. She became interested in
surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...
.
Gallagher dropped out of her foundation course at 17 years old. She became a mother at 19. She returned to
Blackburn College
Blackburn College may refer to:
* Blackburn College (Blackburn with Darwen), United Kingdom
* Blackburn College (Illinois)
Blackburn College is a private college in Carlinville, Illinois. It was established in 1837 and named for the Gideon Blac ...
at 21 years old for a year, juggling responsibilities as a mother and as a student. Gallagher says she struggles with routines.
Art
Gallagher creates mixed media art — often combining painting, photography and digital art. Her works explore the realms of imagination, dreams, memory and experience and subtly contemplates upon notions of feminism, sexuality and identity. Gallagher uses women as subjects and imbues her works with geometric lines and shapes, symbolism from history and different cultures, and objects from the natural world such as flowers, plants and birds.
Gallagher's art is colorful and organic. It is described to be delicate, ethereal and refined. She fuses
art nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
’s ornamentalism and surrealism's dreamlike quality in evoking the subconscious.
Selected works
*Drawing in Winter
*The Heart and Tongue of Virtue
*Melancholy Paradise
*Swallow Blind
*Our Lady of Sorrows
*Sin of Man
*The Seventh State of Perfection
*Evolution of Camouflage
*The Monkey and the Hare
*Shepards Delight
*Birds with Birds
*Carry My Soul to Heaven
*Forbidden Fruit
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallagher, Alexandra
1980 births
Living people
21st-century English women artists
English women painters
Artists from Lancashire
British contemporary artists
British multimedia artists