Art Basel Hong Kong: Alec Egan

For Art Basel Hong Kong, Anat Ebgi is pleased to present Out Look, a solo installation of new paintings by Los Angeles artist Alec Egan. This presentation is a continuation of works presently on view in his solo exhibition Look Out at the gallery’s location 6150 Wilshire Blvd from May 21 – June 25, 2022.

A large painting Fruit Bowl with Bird anchors the booth, combining Egan’s use of interior scenes, still life painting, and atmospheric landscape. Drawn from his own memory and imagination, the fictitious interiors, and scenic landscapes speak to tropes of nostalgia, Americana, and the profundity of the mundane.

Egan’s large interiors, decorated with lavish floral patterns, repeatedly use typical domestic items such as furniture, books, and footwear as symbolic motifs that harken back to personal histories while conjuring hypothetical narratives about the absent residents. In the smaller works, object motifs reappear, such as the bowl of spaghetti in Bowl of pasta with flower poster, or the mirrored palms in Green room (waiting room), and underscore a reflective tone in the exhibition, adding emphasis to these symbolic gestures within the works.

The natural world is not confined to Egan’s landscapes of sun drenched skies and wave paintings, rather the lush wallpapers of peculiar buds, blooming bouquets, and fruit-patterned fabrics intricately come together as meditations on the domestic, natural beauty, and fragility of life. Rich with art-historical references ranging from Van Gogh to Hokusai, Egan’s sentimental dreamscapes are simultaneously faithful and inventive engagements with painterly tradition.

Alec Egan (b. 1984, Los Angeles, CA) completed his MFA at Otis College of Art and Design in 2013, and received a BFA in creative writing and poetry from Kenyon College. Recent solo exhibitions include Miro’s Corner at MAKI Gallery in Tokyo, Japan; The Study at Charles Moffett Gallery, New York, NY; and August, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, CA. His work has been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions at Dubuque Museum of Art, Dubuque, IA; California Heritage Museum, Santa Monica, CA; and the Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA. Egan lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.