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Alexandra Phillips

sculpture, Diaspora, Conceptual, Abstract

At a time when generosity and transparency are things we collectively lack, my work demonstrates a type of generosity by using the familiar then launching it into unfamiliar territory. The intention is to coax a slow viewing, to generate the space for a suspended moment where opposing thoughts can be held, without calamity, in one vessel. My sculptural practice explores the dissonance that often occurs between what is actual and what is expected. My pieces quietly suggest to loosen the reigns. To abandon some preconceptions. To take a moment, pause, breathe and quit with all the assumptions. My practice is a continuous questioning of various value systems. Taking material behaviors or object traits and turning them from perceived liabilities to affirmed assets.

Time a tell tower
Time a tell tower - 2025 Acrylic, plasticine, iron powder, copper powder, wood 160 x 65 x 75 cm installed at ICON Museum Hoek van Holland Part a body of work exploring the artificial and the movement of objects and symbols through time and space. Created during Waterwerke Residency Eiland van Brienenoord, published artist book 'Time A Tell, the making of', here is an excerpt of my writing. "So, what about the work? I made a series of objects molded in plaster with other materials mixed in. Cast inside are bricks from the riverbank, wood shavings from the wood shop on site, the inside of an old U-shaped neck pillow found on the shore, “bio-degrad-able” packing peanuts, and never-degradable styro-foam. I made these three-dimensional impressions with a plan to leave them outside or submerge them in water and wait for something to happen. Allowing the wind and rain and everything I hate about Dutch weather, for once, to be of service to me as opposed to a hindrance. So, what about these partially formed, partially decayed objects? bought some found, I wondered about the scallop shell shape. I started looking at instances where the shell motif is used, specifically at a few architectural wonders, or 'wonders' in my opinion."
Time A Tell 1,2
Time A Tell 1,2 - Time a tell 1 2025 plaster, wood shavings, dirt, plasticine, foam 65x75x45cm Time a tell 2 2025 plaster, bricks, rocks, foam 63x55x57cm Installation view ICON Museum Plaster works made at Waterwerke Residency. Made with intention to leave the pieces outdoors and allow the weather to work on them. Works were a sort of tool to further writing that can be found in 'Time A Tell, the making of' which explores ideas of the artificial, the personally historical and the changing of a symbol or an object through time both conceptually and materially.
Free on Board 3/3
Free on Board 3/3 - 2024, eggshell, paper, chalk, plastic, foam, plaster, wood, acrylic composite, 3 panels 160 x 110 x 12 cm Installation view CODA Museum
Bags, Show Your Shape
Bags, Show Your Shape - Originally made in Basel CH, made more in Rotterdam for show Middle Brow at the now defunct Hilton Art Space in 2021. Restaged for Art on Paper Amsterdam 2025, large scale installation section. brown paper, glue 2019 human scale flat bottom bags, large scale version of common bag in the United States, multiple pieces allows for bags to be in use as a bag or displayed as a sculpture, there is not optimal state for this work. here they are in display mode 6/80 180x 50cm each
Temp Work 2
Temp Work 2 - Restaged in Shimmer Rotterdam 2022, pictured here. Will be part of 2025 edition of Wild Summer of Art at Brutus. Oasis foam, cardboard Installation view 2015 Sunroom Project Space, Wave Hill photo by Stefan Hagen Work was an invitation for visitors to get physical with a polarizing yet familiar material. The entrance requested visitors to come in contact with the green floral foam, this area being kept wet throughout the exhibition. The wall piece from the same material was dry. There was no signage incouraging interaction but people were glad to assist in this work's manifestation. I think the work tread as well as other 'invitational' works came out of the experience of observing Temp Work.
Up on the roof
Up on the roof - 2023 Sun bleached plastic party table cloth, grommet, paper scrap,110 x 46 x 4 cm This work was made in response to the research I did in 2023. For Eye Dialect (5522 CBK), ` research that consisted of exploring historical, natural and cultural sites in the southern United States. I visited various "outsider" artists working primarily outdoors. One artist Joe Minter, explained part of his process as 'putting some of God's color on it'. meaning leaving the work outdoors rest, wear, bleach out or generally be exposed to the elements. This harnessing of the natural change in materials has been a continuous concern in my work since that trip, Up on the roof is a good example.
Viennese
Viennese - 2025 Foam, toilet paper, plaster, fax machine paper 58x25x15cm base 41x31x10cm
Maelstrom - 2018-2020 metal, rubber, plastic, personal paper waste studio debris sealed into plastic casings stacked each 'pillow' has a 15cm diameter hole in the center forming a view to ground when looking from above 132x42x42cm
We Wait, We Understand - The strawberry wafer cookies pictured in this video are sold in almost all convenient stores across the United States, rural and urban alike, mom and pop and chains. Here you see them reacting to the humidity on a hot day. The video is sped up considerably. The soundtrack is a recording of a long unsuccessful service phone call I experienced in which I was on hold with multiple employees simultaneously while waiting for the supervisor.
GoGlobal
GoGlobal - Go Global 2022 plastic ball, push pins, cardboard, wood, sand, acrylic composite, wax 88x88x13cm The sculpture speaks in a visual language that is a kind of hybrid. When I look at the piece I can see things I learned making other artworks. Moving from three dimensions to relief, the way the bouncing ball is flattened is the most accurate way to flatten a sphere. If we wanted the most accurate flat map of the world possible it would be like that. Like is the case with most of my pieces, if one spends enough time with Go Global, the way it made becomes apparent. The pushpins come into focus, the orange tint of the sand mixed into the synthetic plaster becomes more pronounced, the exposed back gives clues to its structure, the way the ball is embedded in the substrate and so on. The base of the work is made of two Soft Talks cast in wax. Why? Go Global was made when I was thinking a lot about the origin of American art, the myth of it all and how historical global events paved the way for the boom of American Art after WWII. See Katy Segal After 45. Before MoMa was filed with what we know now as contemporary artworks, it was full of plaster casts of European old masters and a few second or third tier European paintings. The United States government made a concerted effort to fill the void left by the global upheaval. Art would be something we as country could enjoy together, or that was the idea. “Everyone” was encouraged to visit the museum, even the secretaries. Soft Talks are a wedge shaped accessory one could attach to their phone making it more comfortable to hold the telephone and type at the same time. This item is no longer necessary due to the advent of bluetooth and so on. Although not connected in a linear way, all of these thoughts went into making this work. The advent of American Art, the participation of the “general public” in this art as represented through the Soft Talks. The simultaneous flattening and expansion that happens as something becomes more popular. In this process, whether you see it as a good or a bad thing, you cannot deny, it is not all gain, we lose things as well. Soft talks, plaster casts (hence the acrylic synthetic plaster) and who knows what else.
Design and Six Eggs
Design and Six Eggs - Six Eggs 2019 foam, plaster, egg shells 28x10x4cm Design 2021 brown egg blown out, wood, whitewash 38x6x6cm
Just Hands - 2020 Ongoing work focuses on tactility of collected used and then carved broomsticks beginning to explore carving as a process. Similar to the Bag pieces, this work can be displayed in multiple ways with not standard set up.
Design Designed - wood, foam, plaster, plastic 158x23x23cm 2020
Rosettaikea - 2019 plaster, foam, hand branded plastic rope, ink Rosetta stone shape with Ikea tag etched by hand prototype for W139 commission Amsterdam, two are in installed as entry markers permanently 38x28x12cm
We've only just begun - pigmented plaster, india ink, netting, grommets 2020 I arrived at these works through a series of alterations to a preexisting structure. The pattern that is recessed comes from the underside of an industrial rubber mat. A feature that has a utilitarian function, to keep the rubber from slipping, in this case becomes a graphic device. What usually goes unseen becomes the dominant organizing structure here. The mat acted as the mold for all the pieces in this body of work, setting the arena and creating a constant throughout the pieces. The presence of these constants such as scale, the recessed pattern, and the grommet hardware, might prompt a more intense scrutiny of the variations within each individual work and between them. These pieces deal with legibility, obstruction and prominence, one work in a series 125 x 95cm
Just Table - 2020 faux wood table, packing paper layer removed to reveal structure then stuffed wall piece made by subtractive and process 76x76x10cm
Wood Heart Table
Wood Heart Table - 2023 table top found with wood print vinyl decal, paper, chalk 55 x 55 x 5 cm

PAN Amsterdam

Date:
Location: Amsterdam RAI
In association with: Coppejans Gallery

Work on view in a fair context.

Fragile

Date:
Location: CODA Museum

An exposition featuring artists working around the theme of fragility. I made three new works for the show.

Waterwerken Eiland van Brienoord

Date:
Location: Eiland van Brienoord
In association with: Maurice Meewisse

Free For All

Date:
Location: Roodkapje
In association with: Advisor to Roodkapje artists in residence 2022

Invited by Roodkapje to be a mentor for their AIR program. Designed a framework for an exhibition, kept momentum, created the 'brand' identity. We made a flee market that involved many other people. Was a relational aesthetic expo, a look at commerce and art, and a study into the institutions willingness to spread capital.

https://roodkapje.org/event/2022-07-exhibition-free-for-all/

Temp Work as part of A Door Ajar, Singing

Date:
Location: Waalhaven Oostzijde 1 3087BM
In association with: Shimmer

A Door Ajar, Singing 3 June 2022 - 13 January 2023 A Door Ajar, Singing is an expanded group exhibition featuring 6 artists whose artworks connect to entrances and exits in the broadest sense. Joining us over the following months are (in order of appearance) Alexandra Phillips, Lee Kit, Ayo, Melvin Moti, Jo-ey Tang, and Charlotte Posenenske.

www.shimmershimmer.org

Nature - Nurture

Date:
Location: Coppejans Gallery
In association with: Stijn Coppejans, Antoon Melissen

I showed five pieces from various periods. Below is Just Hands, an ongoing work that began during a research period supported by CBK in 2020. Artists: Joseph Beuys — Wido Blokland — Denmark — Ewerdt Hilgemann — Carmine Iacolare — Hans Lemmen — Wim Nival — Alexandra Phillips — Robert Schad — Johanna Van overmeir

https://coppejansgallery.be/tentoonstellingen/nature-nurture/

Dogs Can Smell Dogs

Date:
Location: Keileweg 10-18
In association with: Brutus, AVL Mundo

'In Dogs Can Smell Dogs, emerging talent Alexandra Phillips repeatedly urges the viewer to recognize the phenomenon of deviation and see it as a lubricant for real contact. She translates this vision into her sculptures, reliefs and videos by presenting familiar items and materials in unfamiliar ways. Phillips makes use of the intrinsic value and character of objects and materials. Her works highlight the unforeseen potential and appeal of our built environment' www.insiderrotterdam.nl March 2

https://brutus.nl/en/programme/current/alexandra+phillips/

Royal Award for Modern Painting Nominee

Date:
Location: Paleis

two works on view in exhibition of nominees 2021

https://www.paleisamsterdam.nl/en/royal-award-modern-painting-2021/

KLEINTJES

Date:
Location: multiple
In association with: Stichting Droom and Daad

Three sets of 25 sculptures under 10cm constructed with combination of found and cast materials. Made in multiples. Thought of as focal points in a vast space such as a cityscape or sprawling exhibition space. Shown during Wild Summer of Art Part I and II in Rotterdam as well as partially in other venues. Project exists online as well as in the form of a printed scavenger hunt map designed by me, edition of 200.

www.littlerotterdam.nl

Heavy Metal Parking Lot, Drive in Saturday The Mad House

Date:
Location: Garage Rotterdam
In association with: Padriac E. Moore , Mondriaan Fonds, MKunst Innovations BV

An exploration of a specific type of racing that happens at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem North Carolina. An attempt to understand the history, the culture and the activity of the chain race. Reading will be accompanied by printed matter that will be available for the duration of the exhibition.

https://www.garagerotterdam.nl/en/tentoonstellingen/heavy-metal-parking-lot-2020-09-12/

A Habit is Also a Legend

Date:
Location: Wielewaal
In association with: Growing Space, CBK

Inflatable sculpture inside of greenhouse provided by Growing Space. Located in residential neighborhood, inflationed during the day and at night the single fan was disconnected and the work takes a whole other form. Inspired by novella "The Literary Conference" by Cesar Aira

https://charloisspeciaal.nl/7-juli-21-december-2020-growing-space-wielewaal/

Bel Canto

Date:
Location: Roodkapje Rotterdam / distribution varies
In association with: Jan Henderikse, Slowscan Editions, Luiscius Books, Pure Propaganda

Second 10 "record made in collaboration with partners listed above. Composition of various opera arias. A celebration / meditation on human vocal ability and the absurdity of" high art ". Sound mixed by me and record designed also by me. To be released January 2021 RECENTLY SET TO RERELEASE through FUTURA RESISTENZA Showcased September 10th 2022 at Roodkapje Rotterdam

https://www.luiscius.com https://www.sea-urchin.net/audio-video/slowscan/ www.purepropaganda.org

Fan Fare for BOX

Date:
Location: Online
In association with: Kris van Dessel BOX

Audio work consisting of layered samples of crowds at various types of live performances. Part of online exhibition compiled by artist Kris van Dessel in response to the lockdown situation we are currently experiencing.

https://www.krisvandessel.com/box-online-sound-exhibition
This artist has no awards yet.