Canvas and steel
55,1 x 45,2 in (140 x 115 cm)

Paul Alexis is a French artist born in 1947. His work is comprised of a superimposition of multiple painted metal sheets atop a coloured canvas. Greatly influenced by his travels through China, Alexis's art is infused with an abstract realism that forces the viewer into a double take. Lurking under the metal layers is a familiar image, unseen from up close, but as the viewer steps back a face, an object, an icon is revealed from the painterly shadows. Preferring to work in large formats, Alexis's works engulf the viewer in their purity of colour and ghostly forms, the joy of recognition an integral part of the viewer's experience.

Faithful to what typifies his paintings, Alexis has transitioned from canvas to cardboard and metal without hesitating to mix and combine. It is therefore not surprising to see his "canvas and metal" works, both innovative and faithful to what defines his style, seduce so many experienced art collectors. Despite the heterogeneousness of mediums used, the ease with which he maintains a flowing passage between abstract and figurative surfaces is part of his genius. By provoking questions of the imaginary, he offers the opportunity to create our own symbolic figures, enigmatic and blurred by a world transcended by the artist's unique vision.

Alexis's work is part of numerous prestigious private collections in France, Great Britain, China, Singapore, the Middle East (including the Royal Family of Morocco), and the United States. In addition to being a prolific artist he is also President of the French Salon Comparaisons, which showcased artists such as Yves Klein, Arman, Niki de Saint-Phalle and Poliakoff; President of Art en Capital and the Federation of Historical Art Salons of the Grand Palais, and Knight of the French National Order of Arts and Letters.