Michel Alexis is a self-taught artist. He was born in Paris and graduated in Economics. He then moved to a recluse hamlet in the Alps mountains, where he remained for 8 years, also travelling extensively around the world. While rebuilding a barn into a studio, he started making slabs of plaster incised with imaginary signs. His inspiration was drawn both from undeciphed glyphs of early civilisations ( originating from his travels), and compulsive writings of disabled outsider artists (seen at the Musee de l'Art Brut, Lausanne, nearby his studio). Both convey in a similar way, according to Alexis, a compelling beauty and a gap in meaning.

Then he moved to Los Angeles, to join part of his family. There he started to do on large canvases what he was doing with plaster, using heavy acrylic paste. In 1991 he moved to New York and drew attention with a show based on a text by Gertrude Stein ( New York Times, Aug.1995). He has been steadily showing his work in the United States and Europe, more recently "Alphabets" (Artnews, Sep.2002) and "Subtracted Word" (Art in America, Jan 2004) at the Stephen Haller Gallery in New York.

His work is included in numerous Museums, public and private collections worldwide.

E.Caro

2006
Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
March 4 - April 8

Isabelle Gounod Galerie, Paris, France
September 16 - October 21

Stephen Haller Gallery, New York, NY
November 4 - December 12

2005
"Synesthesia", Stephen Haller Gallery, New York, NY

Heriard - Cimino Gallery, New Orleans, LA

2003
"Subtracted Word", Stephen Haller Gallery, New York, NY

2002
"Alphabets", Stephen Haller Gallery, New York, NY

2001
Stephen Haller Gallery, New York, NY

Heriard-Cimino Gallery, New Orleans, LA

1999
"Epigrams", Heriard-Cimino Gallery, New Orleans, LA

"Hide-Seek" Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

1997
"Stein's Diary 2", University of Denver, Denver, CO

"The Birthday Book", Elga Wimmer Gallery, New York, NY

Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

1995
"Stein's Diary 1" Dahn Gallery, New York, NY

Ruth Bachofner, Santa Monica, CA

1993
Espace Malraux, Maison de la Culture, Chambery, France

1990
Ruth Bachofner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA (catalogue)

1988
Michael Ivey Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

1987
Michael Ivey Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

1986
Joslyn Center of the Arts, Torrance, CA

Double Rocking G Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

1985
Double Rocking G Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

Selected Group Exhibitions

2005
"Labyrinth", Holland Tunnel Gallery, Paros, Greece

2004
"Narrative Abstraction", Stephen Haller Gallery, New York, NY

2003
"Coda" Stephen Haller Gallery, New York, NY

Werner Bommer Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland

2002
Elga Wimmer Gallery, New York, NY

Robert McClain Gallery., Houston, TX

"Artistas para Tibet Libre", Espacio L. Domus, Madrid, Spain

2001
"Aesthetic Boundaries", Stephen Haller Gallery, New York, NY

Project 1, Elga Wimmer Gallery, New York, NY

2000
"Surface Tension", Stephen Haller Gallery, New York, NY

1999
"Unlocking the Grid", University of Rhode Island, Main Gallery,
Kingston, RI

1998
Elga Wimmer Gallery, New York, NY

1997
"World View", Rosenberg + Kaufman Fine Art, New York, NY

1996
"Word, Image, Gesture", Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA

1995
"The Outside Inside Gertrude Stein", Dortmunder Kunstverein, Dortmund, Germany

1994
Elga Wimmer Gallery, New York, NY

1993
"The Return of the Cadavres Exquis" Drawing Center, New York, NY

"Artist in the Marketplace", The Bronx Museum of the Arts, Bronx, NY (catalog)

"Patterns", Dannenberg Gallery, New York, NY

1992
"Visions of Nocturnes" Gallery 1102, New York, NY

"The Rope Show", Artists Space, New York, NY

1991
Musee Dauphinois, Grenoble, France (catalog)

1990
Salon de Montrouge, France

1988
Michael Walls Gallery, New York, NY

1985
"Quintet Quintessence", Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA

Awards & Grants

2003
Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts

1994
Pollock-Krasner Foundation

1992
Ministry of Culture, France, Grant

Selected Public Collections

Kingsborough Community College, Brooklyn, NY

Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO

Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA

Dortmunder Kunstverein, Dortmund, Germany

Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, CA