on view: Alexander Squier

Quiet Ruptures

Alexander Squier

On View: February 24 - April 22, 2023 I Hallway Gallery

Opening Reception: 6-8 PM, Friday, February 24, 2023

Artist Talk: 2 PM, Saturday, February 25, 2023 I Hallway Gallery

Art League Houston (ALH) is proud to present Quiet Ruptures, an exhibition by Houston-based artist Alexander Squier. Quiet Ruptures is a selection of new and recent drawings and printmaking works, inspired by the push and pull between the natural and built environments, as embodied everywhere in Houston in the form of crushed curbs, submerged sidewalks, leaning telephone poles, and masses of concrete juxtaposed with the occasional vine or palm. The images in the exhibition consider and extrapolate from ubiquitous elements of the urban environment, as well as specific examples that are iconic within the Houston vernacular. Squier states “I am interested in relationships between people (myself included), their structures and infrastructures, and the natural landscape. How do trends in urban development, construction, and economics reflect culture or philosophy? My aim is to develop a better understanding of what forces are behind this constant state of flux, and to incite thoughtfulness regarding the decisions involved.”

Squier enjoys imagining the world through the lens of time on a grander scale, and is drawn to ruins and archaeological sites, where the dynamic between nature and human monuments plays out over centuries. Both in ancient places and modern cities, if left unchecked for long enough, nature quickly reasserts itself. As structures are slowly swallowed up, or disintegrate, their meaning becomes hidden, and harder to decipher.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Alexander Squier (b. 1988, Houston, he/him) is an interdisciplinary artist, working across media including printmaking, drawing, sculpture, installation, video, and sound. Based in his hometown of Houston, Texas, he works out of his studio at BOX 13 ArtSpace in the city’s East End District, and teaches printmaking classes at Art League Houston and the Houston Printing Museum. He has also taught at the University of Houston, and headed up the Printmaking Department at the Glassell School of Art (Museum of Fine Arts Houston) from 2016 - 2020.

Squier earned his Bachelor's Degree in Studio Art from the University of Rochester in 2010, and his Master of Fine Arts Degree from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston (Tufts University) in 2013. In addition to his studio practice and teaching, he is also a curator and organizer, currently serving as Exhibitions Manager at Sawyer Yards, and formerly heading up exhibitions as Director of Programs at the Alta Arts in the Gulfton District from 2021 - 2022.

Artist Website

Instagram: @alexander.squier