Wonderland Dreams by Alexa Meade brings to life the story of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland through boldly painted art installations, creating a whimsical world that plays with our perspective of art and reality. Fall down the rabbit hole into a world of secret rose gardens, mad tea parties, and a living art gallery that puts you inside the frame.
Located at 529 Fifth Avenue, just steps from NYC’s iconic Bryant Park, Wonderland Dreams, every inch of the 26,000 square foot exhibition space was hand-painted from floor to ceiling, letting visitors walk inside a multi-dimensional work of art.
For more information about visiting the Wonderland Dreams exhibition in NYC, please visit wonderlanddreams.com
Photo by Ruby June
The History of the Exhibition
Alexa Meade before painting a custom fabricating keyhole built by Scenicorp. Photo by Mettie Ostrowski.
Alexa Meade debuted her Immersed in Wonderland solo exhibition on Rodeo Drive in 2018 as part of a public art commission by the City of Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau. The 4,000 square foot painted exhibition was attended by 40,000 guests over the short five-week run.
In 2020, the exhibition was brought to NYC and mounted in a 14,000 square foot space. The opening date was scheduled for Friday the 13th of March 2020, but unfortunately, the doors never opened during the four-month run.
Alexa Meade’s solo exhibition finally made its NYC debut in 2022 under the name Wonderland Dreams. The 26,000 square foot exhibition space is centrally located on 5th Avenue and 44th Street -- steps away from Bryant Park, Grand Central Station, Rockefeller Center, Broadway theaters, and Times Square.
Follow along on the journey of building the show on Instagram and TikTok at @wonderlanddreamland.
Photo by Mike Monaghan
Immersed in Wonderland, 2020
111 West 32nd Street, New York, NY, 10001
While the 2020 iteration of Immersed in Wonderland in NYC was never able to open to the public, the entire 14,000 square foot exhibition space was completely painted and show-ready. Although much of the exhibition was able to be packed up into storage, there were some much cherished art installations that could not be transported, such as a walk-in kaleidoscope, a human hamster wheel, and a glittering river scene, complete with a boat.
THE WHEEL // Model Sur Fresh, Photo by Mike Monaghan
THE CUBIC DIMENSION // Model Sur Fresh, Photo by Mike Monaghan
INTERDIMENSIONAL TWIST // Model Sur Fresh, Photo by Mike Monaghan
THE QUEEN OF HEARTS // Model Sandrine Saint Louis, Photo by Mike Monaghan
PICTURE YOURSELF ON A BOAT ON A RIVER // Model Chris Stewart, Photo by Mike Monaghan
LOST IN A KALEIDOSCOPE // Model Sur Fresh, Photo by Mike Monaghan
RAINBOW ROAD // Model LJ Behlmann, Photo by Mike Monaghan
JUST TRIANGULATE // Model Sandrine Saint Louis, Photo by Mike Monaghan
TIME SPIRALS // Model Sandrine Saint Louis, Photo by Mike Monaghan
CHESS GRANDMASTER // Model Sandrine Saint Louis, Photo by Mike Monaghan
HOUSE OF CARDS // Model Victoria Justice, Photo by Mike Monaghan
THROUGH THE WINDOW // Model Sandrine Saint Louis, Photo by Mike Monaghan
PAINTED THE ROSES RED // Model Sur Fresh, Photo by Mike Monaghan
Immersed in Wonderland, 2018
262 Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Immersed in Wonderland made its debut on the world-famous Rodeo Drive as a public art commission from the Beverly Hills Conference & Visitors Bureau’s #BoldBH program. The 4,000 square foot space was transformed into a 2D painted world. The exhibition included a winter forest with real trees painted in shades of lavender and purple and a painted grand piano with live concerts performed by painted pianists.
Immersed in Wonderland Photography by Ruby June, 2018 & 2020
About Photographer and Model Ruby June
Ruby June’s breadth of experience in front of and behind the camera informs her honest photo and film work for editorial, fashion, and commercial subjects. Her unique eye for styling brings a distinct cinematic quality to every story she tells.
Photo by Ruby June
An Exploration of Alexa Meade’s Beverly Hills Immersed in Wonderland, 2018
Written by Anna Gragert
Curious about what inhabiting a painting would be like? Alexa Meade’s “Immersed In Wonderland” is the key. When you enter the exhibit, your senses are on high alert, attempting to process the different colors and dimensions and perspectives before you. All around you, everything is painted — the walls, floor, furniture, clothes, chandelier, and even the piano — allowing you to become part of these worlds, literally stepping inside the paintings around you.
No matter how many times you check, it always looks as though you’ve entered a different dimension. In this moment, you can’t help but feel as though your imagination is exploding. A diverse crowd has gathered, marveling at how truly immersive their surroundings are. Rather than standing behind a velvet rope and looking at a painting on a museum wall, they can interact with the painting. They themselves can dress up to create their own painted wonderlands, capturing this rare 3D-turned-2D perspective. Here, they won’t only see the art — they can also be the art.
Photo by Mike Monaghan
Artist Statement
In my main body of artwork, I paint on people and three-dimensional installation spaces, bringing painting to life. During live performances, models are transformed from normal everyday people into two-dimensional paintings. Onlookers are often fascinated by this process of transformation, but the moment that the painting is complete there is a shift in the audience — they really come alive. People start taking their own photos of the model, framing their own compositions of the three-dimensional painting.
Painting the first walls of Immersed In Wonderland in NYC. Photo by Mike Monaghan.
There is real power in allowing people to engage with a work of art as a participant, not just as a detached observer. Looking at art no longer has to be a passive experience; it can become something active, you can participate in it, you can become part of the artwork.
Alexa painting a flower power floor. Photo by Mike Monaghan.
I decided to make the interactivity front and center for my solo exhibition, Immersed in Wonderland, on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. I transformed a 4,000 square foot space into fully painted environments for visitors to step into and become part of the artwork. In addition to painting models for live audiences, I had painted hundreds of costumes for guests to try on and become part of the painting. There was almost a theatrical quality to it as full-grown adults played dress up and inhabited characters in this fantastically painted world. Rather than the exhibit being about a select few individuals with paint on their faces, Immersed in Wonderland was about everyone in the room joining into the artwork and becoming subjects of the painting.
Painting the rainbow. Photo by Mike Monaghan.
Immersed in Wonderland gives viewers a new way of experiencing a painting — the painting is no longer confined to the static rectangle of a canvas, but rather it is something that now exists in all dimensions in a space that one can actually inhabit. It is no longer simply viewing a painting; now it is experiencing a painting. The painting is turned into a living, breathing thing that is constantly evolving with every new person.
Allowing other voices to participate in and contribute to my work has been an incredibly humbling experience. Each new person who steps into the painted world brings their own unique personality, style, and presence — and the artwork itself completely transforms and changes. It takes on a new tone, a new feeling, a new gesture, and a new voice.
- Alexa Meade
Photo by Mike Monaghan
Teamwork
Immersed in Wonderland was a collaboration between Alexa Meade and an incredible team that helped bring the 2018 and 2020 exhibitions to life.
The Team Behind Immersed in Wonderland in 2018 and 2020
Alexa Meade, Rose Mansion, Morgan First, Tyler Balliet, Ashley Snively, Ames Clark, Kerry Barber, Chris Stewart, Mike Monaghan, Avery Riester, Annina Christensen, Kaylin Pound, Scarlett Dare, Paul Juno, Scotty Zaletel, Sam Guss, Zach Pughe-Sanford, Jenni Palomaa, Sandrine Saint Louis, SiiGii, Joanna Ingco, Anna Gordon, Channing Wilson, Lorena Ndokaj, Kayla Kotcho, Alexia Bonnici, Ebony Mann, Dinah Gumns, Taylor West, Erica Meade, Greene Light Design, Scenicorp, Disco Joe Jesse, Kara Olson, David Yamner, Mike Matsumoto, BHCVB, Julie Wagner, Robert Bibeault, Bill Wiley, Lili Bosse, Julian Gold
