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Draft:Alexander McLeod (artist)

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  • Comment: Trim down on the Selected exhibitions and lectures, arrange it properly and provide sources. Another issue with WP:REFBOMB. Jamiebuba (talk) 11:53, 19 September 2024 (UTC)
A half-length portrait of Canadian artist, Alexander McLeod (shown in a pensive pose, touching his chin), standing in front of a set of historical gilded, carved wood French doors during his visit to the Louvre in the spring of 2024. McLeod is wearing custom black and burgundy devore velvet ORXSTRA apparel, designed by Tala Kamea for presentation at Paris Fashion Week.
A portrait of Canadian artist, Alexander McLeod, during his visit to the Louvre in the spring of 2024. McLeod is wearing custom ORXSTRA apparel, designed by Tala Kamea for presentation at Paris Fashion Week.

Alexander McLeod (born July 23, 1984) is a Canadian visual artist based in Toronto, Ontario working primarily within the mediums of animation, interactivity and print.[1] McLeod's body of work has been recognized as exploring the intersections of the natural world meeting the artificial[2] - merging organic elements blended with gaming references[3][4][5][6][1] and futuristic aesthetic themes to create universes of vibrant, surreal landscapes and immersive environments.[7][8][9][10]

In the landscape of Canadian contemporary art, McLeod is considered to be part of the vanguard of digital artists who seek to embrace the evolutionary dialogue of visual language with emergent technologies - such as generative AI, 3D printing and modelling and virtual or augmented reality - within their practice to expand the limits of visual art.[7][11][12][9] He is celebrated for his adept understanding of internet culture[13][14][15][16][17] and innovative uses of 3D rendering technologies to push the boundaries of frame in digital art - at times, referred to as "technicolour dioramas"[18][19] due to their highly detailed and immersive qualities.[20][5][21][22]

McLeod has also been cited and featured in a number of University level course curricula analyzing themes of similar nature - drawing upon his work as an example of how these technologies can be utilized as bridges weaving traditional art practices, pluriversal thought and new media to create meaningful, aesthetically rich experiences that challenge conventional understanding of perception, landscape and form.[23][24][25] Reflecting this, the influence of his bold personal style, interior design tastes and curation of his private art collection are also considered to be hallmarks of his artistic aesthetic.[26][27][28][29]

Biography and early career

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Born in Scarborough, Ontario,[28][5] McLeod developed a burgeoning interest in the relationship between art and technology while in high school, which led him to pursue formal education in the field of digital art. During his undergraduate studies in Fine Art at Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD University) in Toronto[30], he began to explore the emergent digital space as an expansion on themes of portal building, filtering known reality through a virtual lens, and imagined alternate dimension[31] - forming the theoretical foundation of the intricately crafted, hyper-realistic body of work that he is known for.[32][33]

Following graduation from OCAD in 2007, McLeod began a new course of self-driven tutorial, gradually teaching himself 3D software via YouTube,[5] simultaneously amassing growing interest in his work. In May 2009, he was launched into pop-culture mainstream when his 3D work was featured on KanyeUniverseCity - the now-defunct blog of American rapper and producer, Kanye West.[34][35]

During this time McLeod went on to work as an assistant to Canadian First Nations artist, Kent Monkman, whose dedication and work ethic deeply influenced his approach to the drive and profession of being an artist as a career.[34]. McLeod then began working at the Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto (also known as MOCA - formerly the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, MOCCA) and, shortly after in 2010, was selected to be featured in their group show 'Empire Of Dreams'. Subsequently, David Liss - the Director and Curator of MOCA at the time, selected McLeod's work and the piece "Prismatic Planes" as a highlight of Art Toronto's 2010 Benefit Edition[34]

Concurrently, as attention around his artistic approach of blurring reality and virtuality gained prominence,[36][35] McLeod garnered national and international recognition through media outlets, such as; Canadian Art,[37] Cool Hunting,[38] Computer Arts,[32] Fast Company, The Globe & Mail, IdN,[39] The Huffington Post, Wired (Italy) and Vice (following the acquisition of what was formerly The Creators Project) among others. Further leading to appointments for public art installations,[40][41][42][43] programming in globally curated exhibitions and lecture series, commissions and inclusion in collections of both private and prominent public institutions such as; the Gardiner Museum, The Whitney Museum of American Art,[7] MaSS MoCA, MOCA, the Royal Bank of Canada, and the Thoma Foundation.

The rise of this initial period of McLeod's career was punctuated by a 2014 teaching term in Digital Drawing at the University of Guelph[44] and the completion of a Masters Degree in Digital Media from Yeates School of Graduate Studies within Toronto Metropolitan University in 2016.[22]

Notable collaborations

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Through social media, McLeod often cites music as a meditative source to inspire his working process and is known to foster ongoing visual collaborations with both established and up-and-coming musical artists.[3][45]

  • to coincide with her 2024 documentary film release "I am: Celine Dion", McLeod was sourced by Sony Music Canada to create a lyric video for the 2023 title track "Love Again" by celebrated Canadian singer, Celine Dion, on Amazon.
  • McLeod co-founded experimental arts and textile collective ORXSTRA in the autumn of 2022, with multi-hyphenate artist and peer, Tala Kamea, following previous visual collaborations under her solo-performance persona, Panqueque.[46]
  • a frequent and ongoing collaborator is Canadian opera soprano, Meghan Lindsay, having created visuals for both her live and recorded performances.
  • for the release of "Miss Colombia" in 2021, McLeod envisioned a number of lyric videos for Colombian - Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter, Lido Pimienta.
  • in 2021, his collaboration with Colombian electro tropical band Bomba Estéreo, consisted of a series of lyric videos for the release of their album "Deja".
  • for their "Musik in Motion" series in 2021, The Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra (also known simply as Tafelmusik) invited McLeod to capture the growth and change within their rendition of "Mozart’s Requiem, K. 626: III. Sequenz, 6. Lacrimosa" - as performed by Tafelmusik, Bruno Weil, and the Tölzer Knabenchor - through 3D animation.[3]
  • in 2020, McLeod created visuals for the track "River Don't Care" from the post-human release of the album "Away Is Mine", by Canadian cultural icon and musician, Gord Downie.[47]
  • in 2013, American actor and frontman of Thirty Seconds to Mars, Jared Leto, featured McLeod's work in his limited edition photo book entitled "Notes From The Outernet Version 2".[48]
  • on-going segment and performance visuals for artists such as Kelly Rowland and Nelly Furtado, as well as Canadian music events and industry awards shows such as, MUTEK, The JUNO Awards and the Polaris Music Prize.

Some of McLeod's more recent collaborative endeavours outside of the music industry include projects with established commercial brands such as Bombay Sapphire, Cadillac, Conde Nast, Intel, Mejuri, Nike, Nissan,[49] and Samsung. The 2024 collaboration between McLeod and Intel, included a promotional highlight following his creative process[2] alongside unveiling a showcase entitled "Encore AI" at Toronto's Illuminarium, featuring selected artist works re-imagined large scale as immersive AI-driven installations and augmented reality activations.[50][51]

To date, his works are known to be represented by contemporary art galleries, Gallery Jones, in Vancouver, British Columbia and Galerie BLOUIN DIVISION in Montreal and Toronto, Canada.

Selected exhibitions and lectures

[edit]

The works of Alexander McLeod have been shown internationally within solo and group exhibitions at The Harbourfront Centre (Toronto, Canada. 2024, 2016); Public Works Administration (New York, U.S. 2024); Festival Art Souterrain (Montreal, Canada. 2024, 2020); Postmasters Gallery (New York, U.S. 2021, 2018); Palazzo Brancaccio (Rome, Italy. 2021); MOMENTA Biennale de l'image (Montreal, Canada. 2021); Buildingbox (Milan, Italy. 2021); Susquehanna Art Museum (Harrisburg PA, U.S. 2021); Mindy Solomon Gallery (Miami, U.S. 2020); Nihonbashi Institute of Contemporary Art (Tokyo, Japan. 2018); the Isabella Steward Gardiner Museum (Toronto, Canada. 2017); The Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, U.S. 2016-2017); The Photographers' Gallery (London, England. 2016); MaSS MoCA (Massachusetts, U.S. 2013); Art Gallery of Calgary (Calgary, Canada. 2013); Museum of London, (London, England. 2012); McMichael Canadian Art Collection (Kleinburg, Canada. 2012) Galerie Trois Points (Montréal, Canada. 2012); The Art Gallery of Guelph (Guelph, Canada. 2011); Claire Oliver Gallery (New York, U.S. 2010) among others.

Additionally, throughout his career he has been invited to be a guest lecturer at educational institutions and industry events, such as New York University - Tisch School of Arts (New York, U.S. 2021); The Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, U.S. 2018); Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University. Toronto, Canada. 2017); FITC ("Future. Innovation. Technology. Creativity." Toronto, Canada. 2014); the University of Denver (Denver, U.S. 2013); Hiyori Art Center (Ishinomaki, Japan. 2013); Pratt (Brooklyn, U.S. 2011); the University of Waikato (Hamilton, New Zealand. 2011) and elsewhere.

References

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  1. ^ a b Holmes, Kevin. "A Tech Q&A With Alex McLeod" www.vice.com. VICE. (Originally published on The Creators Project). October 19, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Intel. "Alex McLeod: Bridging Art, Technology and AI in Virtual Worlds" www.cbc.ca. CBC. June 19, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "In the Studio with Alex McLeod" www.arsenalcontemporary.com. Arsenal Contemporary Art. Mar 5, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  4. ^ Galvez, Priscilla & Pavlopoulos, Jeff. "Canadian landscape or the best video game? Alex McLeod's worlds make you want to live in both" www.cbc.ca. CBC. June 26, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d Collins, Leah. "Exhibitionist in Residence: artist Alex McLeod's wild fantasy landscapes" www.cbc.ca. CBC. October 16, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  6. ^ Mufson, Beckett. "If 'Skyrim' Were a Fine Art, It Might Look Like This" www.vice.com. VICE. (Originally published on The Creators Project). September 2, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c Exhibition catalog: Iles, Chrissie. "Dreamlands: Immersive Cinema and Art, 1905–2016". New Haven/London: Yale University Press, 2016. ISBN 978-0-3002-2187-9
  8. ^ McKenna, Meghan. "11 Canadian Artists You Should Be Following on Instagram" www.fashionmagazine.com. FLARE. June 28, 2018. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Otino, Corsano. "All That Is Solid …: Alex McLeod Taps the Cult of the Canadian Sublime and Explodes the Digital" www.momus.ca. MOMUS. October 7, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  10. ^ Whyte, Murray. "At the galleries: Alex McLeod, 3DXL, Out of Line" www.thestar.com. Toronto Star. August 26, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  11. ^ Mills, Lorna. "Ways of Something" Episode #3. Minute 6. The Whitney Museum of American Art. 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  12. ^ Hayler, Matt & Griffin, Gabriele. "Research Methods for Creating and Curating Data in the Digital Humanities". Edinburgh University Press, 2016. ISBN 978-0-3002-2187-9
  13. ^ Doherty, Shauna Jean. "Well Now WTF" www.peripheralreview.com. Peripheral Review. February 5, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  14. ^ Johnson, Paddy. "Online GIF show 'Well Now WTF' is a strong start for a net art revival" www.theartnewspaper.com. The Art Newspaper. April 17, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  15. ^ Collins, Leah. "This art show was made for the internet, and it's answering our most burning question: Well Now WTF?" www.cbc.ca. CBC. April 3, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  16. ^ Rao, Mallika. "The Kids are ALL-CAPS" www.huffpost.com. The Huffington Post. April 8, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  17. ^ Frank, Priscilla. "Uber Art-Savvy Tweeters to Follow in 2013" www.huffpost.com. The Huffington Post. December 28, 2012.
  18. ^ Mufson, Beckett. "Snow Falls Like Gems in Alex McLeod’s Hyperrealistic Animation" www.vice.com. VICE. (Originally published on The Creators Project). March 4, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  19. ^ Kuang, Cliff. “Gorgeous Dioramas You Can Control With Your Mind” www.fastcompany.com. Fast Company. September 15, 2011.
  20. ^ Flint, Nathan. "Alex McLeod: Ghost Stories" www.artoronto.ca. Art Toronto. June 8, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  21. ^ Holmes, Kevin. "Step Into A Kitsch Animated Wonderland" www.vice.com. VICE. (Originally published on The Creators Project). September 20, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  22. ^ a b "Rencontre avec Alex McLeod" www.artpoint.fr. ARTPOINT. October 12, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  23. ^ D. Liddington, A. Morrell. “CROS 3001 - Professional Practice” Department of Painting. Ontario College of Art and Design. Fall 2022 - Fall 2024. Retrieved from https://www.coursicle.com/ocaduca/courses/CROS/3001/ on August 25, 2024.
  24. ^ S. Oliveira. “DRPT 3011 - The Convincing Picture” Department of Painting. Ontario College of Art and Design. Fall 2023. Retrieved from https://www.coursicle.com/ocaduca/courses/DRPT/3011/ on August 25, 2024.
  25. ^ N. Ostoff, R. Nicholls, S. Everingham, P. Smith, N. Inalouei, S. Whitton, B. Luca, M. Porter. “DRPT 1004 - Painting II” Department of Painting. Ontario College of Art and Design. Winter 2023. Retrieved from https://www.coursicle.com/ocaduca/courses/DRPT/1004/ on August 25, 2024.
  26. ^ Vyhnak, Carola. "Why a Toronto artist’s friends never leave his house" www.thestar.com. Toronto Star. October 13, 2022. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  27. ^ Furgala, Gregory. "Show Us Where You Live: Alex McLeod’s Home Was Built By Art" June 12, 2020. www.designlinesmagazine.com. Designlines Magazine. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  28. ^ a b Bloom, Jessica. "Inside artist Alex McLeod’s private art collection, including a secret backyard studio overflowing with paintings and prints." www.torontolife.com. Toronto Life. March 20, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  29. ^ Titanic, Sara. "Artist profile: Alex McLeod" www.nowtoronto.com. NOW Toronto. June 26, 2009. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  30. ^ "Meet Our Alumni | Alexander McLeod" www.youtube.com. OCAD UNIVERSITY. August 22, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  31. ^ Holmes, Kevin. "Forgotten Legends In the Land Of The Hyper Surreal: Our Q&A With Alex McLeod" www.vice.com. VICE. May 24, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  32. ^ a b "Hyperrealistic 3D Landscapes", Computer Arts #193. Computer Arts Magazine, October 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  33. ^ "Hybrid Spaces From Another Universe" Art News: New Zealand. Issue °152. Winter 2011.
  34. ^ a b c "Futuristic art, traditional ideals: Alex McLeod is a Hybrid" www.arttoronto.wordpress.com. Art Toronto. April 12, 2010. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  35. ^ a b Sandals, Leah "Noticed: A Summer of Gallery Love for Alex McLeod" www.neditpasmoncoeur.blogspot.com. August 4, 2009. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  36. ^ "Fantastic Landscapes of Alex McLeod". Resonant City. July 14, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  37. ^ "Peep Show: New Artists Exposed!" www.canadianart.ca. Canadian Art Magazine. August 27, 2009.
  38. ^ Prime, Richard. "Alex McLeod: A Canadian artist’s technical take on the fantasy world" www.coolhunting.com. Cool Hunting. March 1, 2011. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  39. ^ "Somewhere Over The Rainbows", IdN v19n5: Interactive Design. IdNTM Magazine, October 31, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  40. ^ Mcfarlane, Rachel. "Toronto Artist Alex McLeod is Creating the World’s Largest Digitally Printed Image" www.format.com. FORMAT Magazine. May 28, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  41. ^ Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. "CAMH Therapeutic Art Project" www.camh.ca. CAMH. 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  42. ^ Hampton, Chris. "With integrated artwork, Alex McLeod polishes Metrolinx’s Davenport Diamond" www.theglobeandmail.com. The Globe and Mail. March 29, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  43. ^ Canadian Press "TTC to Display Artists Work On Screens" www.cbc.ca. CBC. April 25, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  44. ^ Galperina, Marina. "ARTIST'S NOTEBOOK: ALEX MCLEOD" www.animalnewyork.com. Animal New York. May 27, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  45. ^ Otino, Corsano. "All That Is Solid …: Alex McLeod Taps the Cult of the Canadian Sublime and Explodes the Digital" www.momus.ca. MOMUS. October 7, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  46. ^ "Alex McLeod | Artist Interview Series" www.repsychl.co.uk. repsychl: psychotheraphy & contemporary arts magazine. June 7, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  47. ^ Martoccio, Angie. "Watch Gord Downie’s Animated Video for ‘River Don’t Care’" www.rollingstone.com. Rolling Stone. October 21, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  48. ^ Leto, Jared. "Alex McLeod’s Digital Landscapes - April 23, 2013" Notes From The Outernet Version 2. Privately published limited edition released on Thirty Seconds To Mars online store. 2013.
  49. ^ Ghassemitari Shawn. "Nissan Is Auctioning off an Exclusive NFT of the 2021 GT-R NISMO"www.hypebeast.com. Hypebeast. September 29, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  50. ^ Frye, Brendan. "Intel Brings AI Art Exhibit to Toronto’s Distillery District; Toronto Hosts Intel's Groundbreaking AI Art Showcase" www.cgmagonline.com. CG Magazine. June 24, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  51. ^ Intel. "The Intel Encore AI Exhibit is Coming to Toronto!" www.youtube.com. YouTube. May 31, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
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