Upon my first trip to the New Orleans this summer, I fell in love for a second time – with the work of Alex Beard. Beard is a master of whimsy, whose abstract work brings the very delights of nature into homes and galleries all over the world with the most effervescent stroke of hand and acutely-selective vision. If I were to ever meet Mr. Beard, I would undoubtedly question how he developed such a fanatical style now coined “abstract naturalism,” that allows him to paint all that is ethereal and glorious in a creature the peacock allowing the bird to be shown to the world with a boastful display of colorful feathers and never a display of an imperfection or less-than-perfect poise.
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| Peacock by Alex Beard |
The best part about Mr. Beard is -- just like his paintings – the unexpected elements. His childhood may have involved rendezvous with Warhol and Sunday strolls along Madison Avenue with his editor mother, but the place he and his Louisiana-bred bride call home is the Big Easy. In fact, in comparison of the two cities he has been known to proclaim that the people of New Orleans live a much richer life with a lot less money.
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| Octopus by Alex Beard |
I first found Mr. Beard’s studio around the corner from my Soho apartment a few years ago and was thrilled to so serendipitously stumble upon his recently relocated studio and gallery in the French Quarter on Royal St. His latest masterpiece immediately caught my eye, latched on tight and sucked me in – oh the lovely irony that it was in fact an octopus who got a hold of me.
Find your own hidden treasure here. -Meredith Carter
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