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Alex Couwenberg
Born to and raised by Dutch-Indonesian parents in Southern California, Couwenberg spoke both languages at home and was taught to understand and appreciate the craft of Indonesia, and the art associated with the Dutch masters. His childhood was thus influential in the development of his career in visual art. Together, with the aesthetics of his California experience (surf, skate, and hot rod culture), Couwenberg’s paintings visually layer archetypes or reinterpreted forms into a contemporary conversation with mid-century modernism.
For Couwenberg, the build up of layers, coupled with exposed underpainting, represents the artist’s reflection on his relationship with his personal and cultural history; he intends to find and create a middle-ground between expressionism and hard-edge abstraction. Beautiful surfaces, bold minimalism of color, and asymmetric compositions produce works that are muscular and dynamic, or quiet and elegant, presenting a kind of contemplative soliloquy.
Couwenberg’s formal art education initiated with an Illustration Degree from the Art Center School of Design in Pasadena, California, and culminated with an MFA from Claremont Graduate School, working under the mentorship of several senior painters most notably hard-edge California abstractionist, Karl Benjamin. Couwenberg has shown throughout the United States, Europe and Asia in solo and group exhibitions. His work is in several museum collections, most recently in the permanent collections of the Laguna Art Museum, CA, and the Pomona College Museum of Art, CA, and has been included in Out of Line, a traveling exhibition curated by the Riverside Art Museum CA, which focuses on the contributions of non-objective painting in Southern California. He is currently featured in a two person exhibition in Los Angeles held in conjunction with the Getty Museum’s “Pacific Standard Time” project. In 2007, Couwenberg was awarded the prestigious Joan Mitchell Foundation Award for his achievements in painting.
Alex Couwenberg’s CV
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Solo Exhibitions
2012 Alex Couwenberg, Jennifer Kostuik Gallery Group Exhibition, Vancouver, BC
2011 New Paintings, David Richard Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM
2011 New Paintings, William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2011 New Paintings, Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2011 New Paintings, Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2011 Over the Years, Metro Gallery, Pomona, CA
2010 New Paintings, Markel Fine Arts, New York, NY
2010 Alex Couwenberg, OBJCT Gallery, Pomona, CA
2009 A Bit Left of All Right, William Turner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Singles, Gilman Contemporary, Ketchum, ID
2009 Arcade, Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2009 Morphic Traces, San Luis Obispo Art Center, San Luis Obispo, CA
2009 Waimea, Royale Projects, Indian Wells, CA
2008 Working Space, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO
2008 Bypassing Referents, Markel Fine Arts, New York, NY
2007 Cosmetically, Aesthetically, Unregrettably, d.e.n. Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA
2007 New Paintings, Gilman Contemporary, Ketchum, ID
2007 New Paintings, Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2006 New Paintings, Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2006 Black Labeled, Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2006 Alex Couwenberg: a ten year evolution, University Gallery, CSUS, Turlock, CA
2005 de Stad, Markel Fine Arts, New York, NY Metropolitan, 455 Market Street Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2005 tussenruimte, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2004 Primo, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2003 Paintings, Gensler, San Francisco, CA
2003 Alexander Couwenberg; 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
2010 Claremont Modernism, OBJCT Gallery, Claremont, CA
2010 WHAT, Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2009 Enduring Legacy, Claremont Museum of Art, Claremont, CA
2009 West/East, Royale Projects, Indian Wells, CA
2009 Rant, Design Loves Art, Pacific Design Center, West Hollywood, CA
2009 Art Auction, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA
2009 Los Angeles Currents, Couturier Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2009 Summer Group Show, Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2009 ONA 2X2, Cypress College Art Gallery, Cypress, CA
2008 Liquid Light, Museum of Design Art and Architecture, Culver City, CA
2008 Between the Lines, William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2008 15 Years, 15 Artists, Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2008 Art Auction, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA
2008 The Finish Fetish, Melissa Morgan Fine Art, Palm Desert, CA
2008 Keeping It Straight, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA
2008 Works on Paper, Gilman Contemporary, Ketchum, ID
2007 West Coast Abstraction, Peter Blake Galley, Laguna Beach, CA
2007 Liquid Light, dba256 Gallery, Pomona, CA
2007 Off the Grid, William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2007 Paintings Edge, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA
2007 Inland Emperors, dba256 Gallery, Pomona, CA
2007 Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
2007 Inaugural Exhibition, Gilman Contemporary, Ketchum, ID
2007 Summer Group Show, Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2007 Art Auction 12, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
2007 Venice Art Walk, Venice, CA
2007 Decade, Dolby Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007 Out of Line, Cal State Stanislaus, University Gallery, Turlock, CA
2007 Grey Scale, Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2007 Art Auction = Stimulus, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA
2007 Let There Be Light, Phantom Galleries, Los Angeles, CA
2006 Aligning With Abstract Los Angeles, d.e.n. Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA
2006 Landscape Perspectives, Art + Industry, Palm Springs, CA
2006 Summer Abstraction, Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2006 Monotype, d.e.n. Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA
2006 2nd Gwang Hwa Moon International Arts Festival, Sejong Center, Seoul, Korea
2006 Flow: Fine Lines on Water, Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
2006 Flow: Fine Lines on Water, Lisa Coscino Gallery, Pacific Grove, CA
2006 Recent Acquisitions, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA
2006 Border Crossing, Sopa Fine Arts, British Columbia, Canada
2006 Out of Line, Parks Exhibition Center, Idyllwild Arts Academy, Idyllwild, CA
2005 Inaugural Exhibition, Sopa Fine Arts, British Columbia, Canada
2005 A Common Thread, Soho Myriad, Atlanta, GA
2005 Out of Line, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA
2005 Out of Line, Brandstater Gallery, La Sierra University, Riverside, CA
2005 Abstract Los Angeles, Louisiana Tech University Galleries, Ruston, LA
2005 Art Auction 11, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
2005 Theories: LA Paint, Post, Los Angeles, CA
2005 Venice Art Walk, Venice, CA
2005 Monothon, 2005, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA
2004 Luster, Gensler, San Francisco, CA
2004 Abstract Work from the Permanent Collection, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
2004 Continental Divide: LA/NYC, Planet Thailand, Brooklyn, NY
2004 Abstract Los Angeles, Soho Myriad, Atlanta, GA
2004 20th Anniversary Exhibition, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2003 No Chaser; Straight Ahead Abstract Painting, Post, Los Angeles, CA
2003 Group Show, Dolby/Chadwick Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2003 Black and White, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2003 New Paintings, Soho Myriad, Atlanta, GA Venice Art Walk, Venice, CA
2003 Art Auction 10, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
2002 California Dream, Il Museo I Magli di Sarezzo, Brescia, Italy
2002 Summer Group Show,Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2002 Sam Maloof and Friends, dA Center for the Arts, Pomona, CA
2001 New American Paintings Group Show, OSP Gallery/Open Studio Press, Boston, MA
2001 Homage: Roland Reiss, Claremont Graduate School alumni show, dA Center for the Arts, Pomona, CA 2001Art Auction 9, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
2001 Monothon, 2001, Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA S
2001 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
1999 Faculty Exhibition, Chaffey College, Ontario Museum of Art, Ontario, CA
1998 Six Gallery Artist, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1998 Synchronicity, Mt. San Antonio College Art Gallery, Walnut, CA
1998 Contemporary Works of the Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Antelope Valley College, Lancaster, CA
1997 Convergent Abstraction, Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1997 L.A. Emerging, Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta, GA
1997 Art Auction 6, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
1997 3 Weeks in L.A., Richard Heller Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1997 Recent Paintings, Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta, GA
1997 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
1996 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
Awards
2007 Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grant
Selected Museum Collections
California State University, Stanislaus, Turlock, CA
Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, MO Georgia Tech University, Atlanta, GA
Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
Pitzer College Museum Collection, Claremont, CA Pomona College Museum of Art, Claremont, CA
Riverside Art Museum, Riverside, CA
Bibliography
2010 Dambrot, Shana Nys, Flavorpill New York, “Alex Couwenberg, New Paintings," March 2010 Zimmermann, Mark, Art: Theories and Provocations, March 2010
2010 Artdaily.org March 2010
2009 Biller, Steven, Palm Springs Life, "Game On: The Arcade Paintings", November 2009
2009 Nichols, Kimberly, Desert Magazine, "Art for Now", November 2009
2009 Biller, Steven, Palm Springs Life, November 2009
2009 Melrod, George, ART ltd, “Under the Radar” May 2009
2009 Idaho Mountain Express, March 4, 2009
2009 Biller, Steven, Palm Springs Life, February 2009
2009 Frank, Peter, THE Magazine Los Angeles, February 2009
2009 Meyers, Holly, Los Angeles Times, January 30, 2009
2008 Art & Culture, Critic’s Pick, Winter/Spring 2008
2008 Harris, Freddie, Sun Valley Magazine, "Gallery Openings," Winter 2008
2008 California Home and Design, "Art and Antiques," September 2008
2008 Gay, Malcolm, Riverfront Times, "St. Louis Art Capsules," May 20, 2008
2008 Grossman, Emily, Art and Living, "The Straight Take", March 20, 2008
2008 The New York Sun, “Brother Culture” January 25, 2008
2008 Biller, Steven, Palm Springs Life, “Critics Pick,” January, 2008
2008 Davies, Stacy, IE Weekly, “Everything Old Is New Again,” January 17, 2008
2007 Myers, Holly, Los Angeles Times, “Like 50’s lounge music, remixed,” August 17, 2007
2007 Gleason, Mat, ArtScene, July/August 2007 Artdaily.org, July 2007
2007 Tibbitz, Ashley, Flavorpill, July 17-23, 2007
2007 ART ltd., “Pulse,” July 2007
2007 Bossick, Karen, Wood River Journal, “Buzzer, Gilman Contemporary”, August 1, 2007
2007 Carasso, Roberta, Coast Magazine, September, 2007
2007 Frank, Peter, LA Weekly, “Grids Unlocked,” Art Pick of the Week, June 6, 2007
2007 Jit Fong Chin, SqueezeOC, “Grey Matters”, January, 2007
2007 Walsh, Daniella, Orange County Register, “Shades of Gray”, January 14, 2007
2007 Carasso, Roberta, Laguna News Post, “Artwaves” January 4, 2007
2007 Walsh, Daniella, Riviera Magazine, “The Radar Art” January, 2007
2007 Rupe, Cynthia, SqueezeOC, Picks of the Week, January 4, 2007
2007 Mckenna, John Page, Palm Springs Life, Winter/Spring 2007
2006 Melrod, George, Art Ltd., “Culver City: Chelsea West?” October, 2006
2006 Cripps, Mick, Lifescapes, “Artist Profile,” September, 2006
2006 Allen, Bobbie, Coastline Pilot, “Seven Abstractionists for summer,” July 6, 2006
2005 Frank, Peter, LA Weekly, “Art Pick of the Week,” October 2005
2005 Muckenfuss, Mark, Press Enterprise, Riverside Museum Monothon Event, September, 2005
2005 Simou, Alexandra, New York Sun, January 26, 2005
2004 Kugelman, Kerry, Art Circles, fall 2004
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2004 Gilbert, Debora, Greenline, March, 2004
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2004 Novick, La Rue, Daily Bulletin, February, 2004
2003 Litz, Paige, Los Angeles Times, “Going Beneath the Surface,” October 10, 2003
2003 Moyle, Andrew, 210 Magazine, October, 2003
2002 Nelson, Harold, Director, Long Beach Museum of Art, Statement, 2002
2002 Alfred, E. Anne, Asst. Director, Riverside Museum of Art, Statement, 2002
2002 Dennison, Lisa, New American Paintings, vol. 37, 2001-02
2001 Roth, Charlene, Artweek, "Alexander Couwenberg at Ruth Bachofner Gallery," March, 2001
2001 Frank, Peter, LA Weekly, "Art pick of the week," January, 2001
2000 Johnstone, Mark, ART 2000: Applauding Revolutionary Talent, Millard Sheets Gallery Catalog
Visiting Artist / Lecturer
Modernism Week 2009, The Krisel House, Palm Springs, CA
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 Center for the Arts, Pomona, CA