The Alabama Center for the Arts has announced its newest art exhibit, “Passages: 2015-2020,” which features acclaimed artist and Alabama Center for the Arts alumna Brooke P. Alexander. The exhibit is on display now through Aug. 26 in the Center’s Main Gallery.

“Passages: 2015-2020” includes paintings that represent Alexander’s career through graduate school and into the art profession as a painter and teacher. The Center described the exhibit as a showcase of the artistic journey, with all of its successes, failures and growth.

Alexander said she is heavily influenced by literature. Although a specific writer’s presence may not always be obvious in her work, she believes the narrative element within her paintings is evident.

“My mind often lives somewhere between the words and paint,” she said. “The structure of William Faulkner’s novels inspired placement, juxtaposition and perspective in ‘Discerned Obliquities.’ Poets such as Emily Dickinson, whose words are used as a title for ‘I died for Beauty,’ help me understand how to elevate the mundane. The moments and imaginings of the every day capture my attention much more than the sensational.”

Alexander said she relies on all her senses to inspect subject matter and connect with it, instead of vision alone.

“The information before me is vast, and I, as the editor, have the privilege to dictate what elements I show my viewers and which I conceal from them,” she said. “When painting from life, the only way to distill the moment is to capture it in paint. Light changes, models move, flowers die. There is beauty in such urgency.”

Alexander was born and raised in Athens. She attended Calhoun Community College and Athens State University, receiving her bachelor’s degree in studio art from the latter in 2015. She minored in English.

After graduation, Alexander moved to Oxford, Mississippi. She received her master of fine arts in studio art with a concentration in painting from the University of Mississippi in May 2018.

She currently lives in Oxford and teaches as a visiting assistant professor at Ole Miss. Her work has been featured regionally and nationally.

Admission to “Passages: 2015-2020” is free and open to the public.

Visit brookepalexander.com for more information about Alexander and her art.

About ACA

The Alabama Center for the Arts is a long-standing collaborative academic effort between Calhoun Community College and Athens State University. The center serves as a model of academic institutional cooperation for the state.

The Alabama Center for the Arts serves as a venue for cultural events and activities, aiming to enhance an appreciation of art while promoting opportunities for creative expression for residents throughout the region.