Alex Da Corte: The Whale

Drawing on pop-culture archetypes and commercial materials, Da Corte’s foam, shampoo and glass paintings receive their first dedicated museum survey and publication Published with Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth. Merging modernist color theory and Postminimalist spatial experiments with the crowded, beautiful trash-scape of contemporary culture, Alex Da Corte (born 1980) addresses sexuality, invisible labor, taste, power and desire. While most previous showcases have focused on Da Corte’s installations, The Whale is the first exhibition to survey his rich and eccentric relationship with painting over the past decade. As is to be expected with his irreverent approach, Da Corte paints with both traditional and unconventional materials. His Shampoo Paintings are created with drugstore hair products, while his Puffy Paintings consist of upholstered neoprene. Other works include his reverse paintings on glass, most commonly used in celluloid animation and commercial sign-making. Many of these paintings are published in book form for the first time, accompanied by Da Corte’s "Voice Memos" that elucidate his creative process.