About Alexa Meade
Artist Alexa Meade paints on the human body and three-dimensional spaces, creating the illusion that our reality is a two-dimensional painting. As The New York Times describes Alexa’s artwork, “Think of it as a Van Gogh — that is, if one of his paintings were brought to life as a performative protest."
Alexa’s art has been exhibited around the world at the Grand Palais in Paris, the Saatchi Gallery in London, the United Nations in New York, Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, and the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. Her artwork has also been exhibited in space, orbiting the Earth on the history-making SpaceX Inspiration4 mission.
She has created interactive installations at Coachella, Cannes Lions, and Art Basel. Alexa painted on the body of Ariana Grande for her iconic “God is a Woman” music video, which has 350 million views. Her solo show on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills was attended by forty-thousand people. With profound pop cultural relevance, Alexa’s art has been upvoted to the #1 position on the Front Page of Reddit. She has been commissioned by Apple, BMW, and Sony. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Alexa teamed up with LEGO as a Master Builder for their “Rebuild the World” campaign.
Collaborating with spacetime researchers, Alexa was the first ever Artist-in-Residence at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. She has also been Artist-in-Residence at Google, where she worked alongside the engineers advancing Light Field imaging technology.
Alexa and her groundbreaking work have been honored with the "Disruptive Innovation Award" from the Tribeca Film Festival. Respected for her thought leadership and non-traditional career path, Alexa has lectured at TED, Stanford, and Princeton. Alexa accepted an invitation to the White House under President Obama. Google Arts & Culture selected Alexa as the face of their “Faces of Frida” campaign, celebrating the legacy of Frida Kahlo and the female artists who are carrying it forward today. InStyle has named Alexa among their "Badass Women."
Exhibitions
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2020
Rebuild the World, LEGO, Los Angeles, CA
Immersed in Wonderland, 111 W 32nd St. New York, NY
Hidden Risks, Oculus World Trade Center, New York, NY
2019
Today, Apple Fifth Avenue, New YorK, NY
Painting in the Light Field, Google, Los Angeles, CA
BMW, V1 International Racetrack, Tianjin, China
Adidas Sport Club, Zenyara Estate, Coachella, CA
WPP, Dreamforce Conference, San Francisco, CA
Beloved, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA
2018
Proyecto Frida, Museo Dolores Omedo, Mexico City, Mexico
“Euphoria” SoundBox, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco, CA
The Art of Transformation BASF, Kulturhaus, Schwarzheide, Germany
Summer Session, Union Station, Los Angeles, CA
Bold, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, CA
SkySpace, U.S. Bank Tower, Los Angeles, CA
Color of Reality, Vérone, Saint-Denis, France
Self-Portraits, Galleria Sagittaria, Pordenone, Italy
A Life in Colors (Solo), Ingo Seufert Gallery for Contemporary Photography, Munich, Germany
Become the Masterpiece, 29Rooms, Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA
2017
The Art of VR, Sotheby’s, New York, NY
Step into the Frame, Instagram, Pavilhão Ciccillo Matarazzo, São Paulo, Brazil
Wander and Wonder, Instagram, Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, Cannes, France
Maurice Lacroix, Baselworld, Basel, Switzerland
Color of Reality, Galerie Tem, Goviller, France
Color of Reality, Aspen Ideas Festival, Aspen, CO
Green Earth, Brookfield Arts, Los Angeles, CA
Become the Masterpiece, Refinery29, 29Rooms Brooklyn, NY Los Angeles, CA
2016
The Fader, Boom Basel, Miami, FL
Premiéres (Solo), Ingo Seufert Gallery for Contemporary Photography, Munich, Germany
Freedom Awards Ceremony, National Civil Rights Museum, Nashville, TN
Dance on Camera, Lincoln Center, New York, NY
Flux Series, The Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Meade Museum (Solo), Lincoln Rd, Miami Beach, FL
Satellite Spirit, Espace Marais Marais, Paris, France
Pasteur Institut, United Nations Building, New York, NY
Self-Reflection, The Untitled Space Gallery, New York, NY
Color of Reality, Summit at Sea, Miami, FL
Whow, PopTech, Camden, ME
Palacio de Hierro, Mexico City, Mexico
Art Munich Art Fair, Munich, Germany
Stroke Art Fair, Munich, Germany
2015
Le Pressionnisme 1970 – 1990, les chefs-d’œuvre du graffiti sur toile de Basquiat à Bando, Pinacothèque de Paris, Paris, France
After Dark Illusions, Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA
Alexa Meade: A Colloquium Exploring the Dimensions of Space, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Canada
Alexa Meade: Your Body Is My Canvas (Solo), Galerie Sisso, Paris, France
Art Paris Art Fair, Grand Palais, Paris France
Alexa Meade: Living Colors (Solo), Ingo Seufert Gallery for Contemporary Photography, Luxembourg
12.6.15-12.6.14, Ingo Seufert Gallery for Contemporary Photography, Munich, Germany
Mathematics, Music, Art, Architecture, Culture, The Bridges Organization, Baltimore, MD
2014
Alexa Meade: Surfaces & Depths (Solo), Ingo Seufert Gallery for Contemporary Photography, Munich, Germany
Project Warehouse, Ralph Lauren Denim & Supply Santa Monica, CA Madrid, Spain Toronto, Canada
2013
NOT NORMAL, MINI Cooper, Shibuya 109, Tokyo, Japan
Intro15, Ingo Seufert Gallery for Contemporary Photography, Munich, Germany
Alexa Meade + Sheila Vand: MILK,Bijou Theater Artisphere, Arlington, VA
2012
Camera-Ready Color, Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC
Performing the Body, Galerie Ivo Kamm, Zürich, Switzerland
2011
Kunst 11, Galerie Ivo Kamm, Zürich, Switzerland
You Are Here, Dorian Grey Gallery, New York, NY
Artist Tribute Exhibition 2,Irvine Contemporary, Washington, DC
Saturnalia, Irvine Contemporary, Washington, DC
2010
The Art of Giving, Saatchi Gallery, London
Picture Planes (Two-person exhibition), Irvine Contemporary, DC
Mirror, Mirror, Postmasters Gallery, New York, NY
Press
SELECTED PRESS
2019
"This Body-Paint Artist Transforms People," New York Magazine
"Body Art Fever: Dimensional Expression," pp.76-83, Harper's Bazaar Art (Hong Kon)
"Alexa Meade: Game of Shadows, Light, and Color" pp. 48-51, Grazia (Croatia)
"4 Artists Share Their Social Media Strategies," Artsy
2018
"Meet the artist who submerged Ariana Grande in a pool of paint," TED
“Google Unveils Frida Kahlo Retrospective With Never-Before-Seen Artifacts,” by Veronica Villafañe, Forbes Magazine
“Ariana Grande’s ‘God Is a Woman’ Video Is Packed With Feminist Imagery,” by Alyssa Bailey, Elle Magazine
“Ariana Grande smashes the patriarchy in new video for ‘God Is a Woman,” by Christie D’Zurilla, Los Angeles Times
“This psychedelic, Instagram-worthy art exhibit was co-designed by Hollywood royalty — take a look inside,” by Katie Canales, Business Insider
“Color of Reality”: Jon Boogz, Lil Buck, and Black Lives in Livid Color,” by Constance Valis Hill, LA Review of Books
2017
“The good news: Refinery 29’s popular 29 Rooms hits DTLA Thursday. The bad news: It’s sold out,” by Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times
“Turning the page with artist innovator Alexa Meade,” by Robin Rootenberg, 24 Life
“29Rooms Is What Happens When the Museum of Ice Cream Moves to Brooklyn and Enrolls in Art School,” by Brittany Martin, Los Angeles Magazine
“29Rooms Is a Creative Playhouse for the Instagram Set,” by Melena Ryzik, New York Times
“Peek Inside 29Rooms, Refinery29’s Kaleidoscopic Experience,” by Alysia Gray Painter, NBC
“How Activism Can Advocate for Art,” by Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic
“This Artist Transforms Real-Life People into Paintings,” Elle Decor
“Meet the Body Painting Artist Disrupting Portraiture,” by Kara Weisenstein, VICE
2016
“Mixing Paint and Dance to Comment on Justice and Art,” by Gia Kourlas, printed on C5, The New York Times
“Alexa Meade Art Makes Photography Magic,” CNN
“Understanding the Hidden Dimensions of Modern Physics Through the Arts,” The Wire
“Painting Reality on Top of Reality Makes You Question Reality,” by Diana Shi, VICE
“The Peace and Security Implications of Quantum Innovation,” SPSS Review
“Quantum Leap,” by Taylor Owen, Foreign Affairs
The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking, by Chris Anderson, TED
“Living Portraits – Or When Art Imitates Life,” by Helene Laub, Porsche
“These Women Artists Are Their Own Damn Muses,” by Priscilla Frank, Huffington Post
“Watch Artist Alexa Meade Literally Bring Art To Life” by Laura Delarato, Refinery 29
“This Artist Transforms Humans Into Paintings,” New York Magazine
“The 50 Best TED Talks Ever Given,” WNYC
“Incredible Paintings That Actually Breathe,” CNN
“And the winner of this year’s Dance Your Ph.D. contest is …” Science Magazine
“Daily Planet: Alexa Meade,” Discovery Channel
“Nowness Picks,” Nowness
Funhouse House:
“Artist Alexa Meade’s House is Giving Us Hardcore Apartment Goals” by Laura Delarato, Refinery 29
“A Couple Turned Their Echo Park Home Into a Funhouse” by Peter Holderness, LA Weekly
“Astronauts Wanted Launches Transmedia Incubator” by Natalie Jarvey, The Hollywood Reporter
“An artist and a hacker turned their home into this trippy funhouse” by Chris Weller, Tech Insider
“LA Couple Turns Their Home Into The Funhouse House” by Lourdes Linares, WGSN
“Enter the Funhouse,” Atlas Obscura
2015
“This Artist Painted Physicists Into a 3D Living Chalkboard,” by Jennifer Ouellette, Gizmodo
“The Living Chalkboard,” by Colin Hunter, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
“Artist Alexa Meade Uses People as Canvas,” by Jaimie Wax, CBS This Morning
“This Artist Makes Humans Look Like Wall Art,” by Charles Clark, Business Insider
“Artist Shows Off Her Talents by Painting on People,” SF Globe
“Illusions in Progress: The Paintings of Alexa Meade,” Time Out San Francisco
“Alexa Meade,” by Tina Essmaker, The Great Discontent
“2D-Künstlerin Alexa Meade,” by Anna-Lena Roth, Spiegel (Germany)
“Optishe Täushung Deluxe,” Taff ProSieben (Germany)
“Los Trazos de la Moda,” El Mundo (Spain)
“L’Illusion D’Optique à Bas Coût,” Arte TV (France)
“Meet Alexa Meade, she will turn you into a painting” by Mihika Jindal, The Sunday Guardian (India)
2014
“Alexa Meade, la auténtica artista tridimensional,” Esquire (Spain)
“People-painter turns tables on illusion,” by Natalie Angley, CNN
“Mind-Warping Photos Turn Subjects Into 2-D Paintings,” by Doug Bierend, WIRED
“Denim & Supply Ralph Lauren x Alexa Meade: Art Meets Fashion,” Nylon Magazine
“Arte y Moda: La retratista Alexa Meade y Ralph Lauren revolucionan las calles,” p. 258, Vogue (Spain)
“Alexa Meade: Entre El Arte y la moda,” pp. 166-169, Glamour Magazine (Spain)
“We Painted a Bunch of Models for Our Fall Fashion Story…” pp. 206-213, Details
“Painter,” pp. 32, 326-333, GQ (Korea)
“Off the Wall – Alexa Meade,” JAY Z’s Life & Times
2013
“TED Talk: Alexa Meade: Your body is my canvas,” TED.com
“TEDweekends: Art Beyond the canvas,” Huffington Post
“Watch Alexa Meade,” by Liat Clark, WIRED
“Alexa Meade Highlight,” Last Call with Carson Daly
“Alexa Meade’s living paintings,” London Telegraph
2012
“Picture of the Day,” by David Sim, London Telegraph
“Alexa Meade and Sheila Vand’s Milk: what will you make of me?” Juxtapoz Magazine
“Why artist Alexa Meade submerged her human subjects in milk,” by Liat Clark, WIRED Magazine
“Alexa Meade’s Incredible Painted Photographs,” by Priscilla Frank, The Huffington Post
“The Artist in Action,” p. A19, by Nell Alk, The Wall Street Journal
“Paintings In (Really) Living Color,” by Adam Cole, NPR
“Alexa Meade @ The National Portrait Gallery Museum,” Juxtapoz.com
“Wie gemalt: Alexa Meade Verwandelt Objekte in Malerei,” Vogue Magazine (Germany)
2011
“Alexa Meade: Photos Imitate Paintings,” Yahoo! News
“You’ve Got Alexa Meade,” AOL.com
“Her Art Asks: Can You Believe Your Eyes?” MSNBC.com
“Alexa Meade’s Living Paintings,” The Guardian (UK)
“…More Must-Read Art News,” ArtInfo.com
“Art Renews Itself by Innovation,” Times of India
“Die Künstlerin und ihr Werk,” Spiegel (Germany)
“L’uomo-Quadro,” Corriere Della Sera (Italy)
“Ritratti Viventi di Alexa Meade,” Repubblica (Italy)
“How’d they Do That? A Painting That Walks,” MSN.com
“Alexa Meade’s Human Canvases,” Slate.com
“Lebende Gemälde,” Galileo ProSieben (Germany)
“El Vivo Retrato,” pp. 210-215, ELLE (Mexico)
“Models are Both Subject and Painting Surface,” PBS NewsHour
Doppelganger: Images of the Human Being, Berlin: Die Gestalten Verlag, 2011.
“Living Art: Alexa Meade,” pp. 102-103, NY Arts Magazine
2010
“Alexa Meade” pp. 38-39, American Contemporary Art Magazine
“Ritratti Viventi,” pp. 341-344, ELLE Magazine (Italy)
“See Alexa Meade Create,” NYMag Vulture
“He’s No Oil Painting,” p. 55, WIRED Magazine
“Alexa Meade,” pp. 24-25, Juxtapoz Magazine
“Alexa Meade: Acrylic On People,” USAToday.com
“A Portrait of a Portrait of a Portrait,” ArtSlant.com
“Los ‘Cuadros Vivientes’ de Alexa Meade,” El Mundo (Spain)
“Canvas with Personality: Artist Paints Using People,” Today Show
“Flesh Perspective: Alexa Meade” pp. C1, C10, The Washington Post
“The artist who turns people into paintings,” CNN
Lectures
SELECTED LECTURES
TEDGlobal, Edinburgh, UK
Q Symposium: Peace and Security in a Quantum Age, University of Sydney, AUS
Apple, Cupertino, CA
Google X, Mountain View, CA
Adobe, San Francisco, CA
Facebook at Cannes Lions, Cannes, FR
The Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA
Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
National Cathedral School, Washington, DC
California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
University of California – Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
New York University, New York, NY
National Geographic, London, UK
WIRED 2012 Conference, London, UK
TEDxLondonBusinessSchool, London, UK
PopTech, Camden, ME
Social Innovation Summit, Silicon Valley, CA
Honors
SELECTED HONORS
Tribeca Film Festival, Disruptive Innovation Award
CNN Great Big Story, Art as Impact Award
Neural Correlate Society, Judge, Best Optical Illusion of the Year
Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Artist-in-Residence
Summit Series, Artist-in-Residence
South by South Lawn, Invitation to the Obama White House
Toronto International Film Festival, Best Experimental Short Film
About the Team
I feel incredibly lucky to work with a such dedicated team of passionate and creative visionaries. I’m extremely proud of everything we’ve accomplished together. Additionally, the art they’ve created outside of my studio is gorgeous, inspiring, and I hope that all the world can see it! Please, take your time getting to know the personal artwork of all the members of my team.
Former Contributors
Over the years, the Alexa Meade Art team has included a broad array of talented individuals.