'The Desert Will Hold You' - My Recent Solo Show of 18 New Paintings
inspired by my time in the desert and presented by The Graham Collective
Hello friends — it’s been awhile! It’s been a whirlwind of a year and I find myself writing you from New York City, my new home as of a month ago. I know, big change. A LOT has happened. More on this later…
For now, I’m delighted to share 18 new paintings and the artist statement from my recent solo show, “The Desert Will Hold You,” presented by The Graham Collective at The Graham Residence in Yucca Valley, California.
This has been my most ambitious show yet and it has been incredibly well-received — already one third sold. I am so grateful for your support. To view available work you can visit the below link, or reach out to Lindsey at lindsey@graham-collective.com.
Over the coming weeks, I’ll dive into more on the past few months and the creation of this body of work, how I ended up in NYC, other updates from the studio and the like. A few short ones at the end of this newsletter.
More soon and sending love, always.
Amac
The Desert Will Hold You
Alex Maceda Solo Show, The Graham Collective, Fall 2024
Artist Statement: “The Desert is normally depicted as harsh, aggressive, and expansive. And it is all those things – but in my experience it is also soft, welcoming, and self-contained. The Desert is as much crucible as it is cocoon: a place to be forged and a place to be held.
For the past four years, I’ve made my home in The Desert, a place I never expected to live, but that called me nonetheless. I’ve immersed myself in her contradictions: harsh yet soft, expansive yet small, still yet dynamic, barren yet fertile, washed out and yet so full of color. I’ve explored her exterior landscapes in parallel to diving into my own interior ones. My experiences scrambling on boulders and walking across her vast expanse have felt dreamlike in their quality. On many evenings I witness sunset and moonrise at the same moment, soft pink gradients melting into blue on one side and warm tans on the other.
In a world where everything moves so quickly, when endings come as rapidly as beginnings, The Desert has offered me stillness. Time slows down here and moments you want to savor seem to last a bit longer, allowing you to savor them even more slowly. There is a sensuality and richness to this place. It wraps itself around you, in a way. It holds you.
This feeling of being held by someone – or something – greater is at the core of this body of work, and one of the things that most struck me about staying at The Graham Residence. The approach to the home is a one-lane, bumpy, winding dirt road. You snake around boulders and hug their curves. As you drive, houses get more and more spaced out until they all but completely fall away. The residence itself sits tucked away with geologic forms on every side, visible from its many glass windows. It feels hermetic: like an escape, like a cocoon. The surrounding rocks and valleys become a literal barrier between you and normal life. It’s a contradictory experience of being held in one place, completely still, while still witnessing the passing of time via sun rising and setting over the mountainous horizon, the stars passing over you in the night sky
I paint from life – my experience of it – but when I first concepted this show I had imagined a story about a lovers’ weekend at The Graham Residence. Something that never happened. Stolen time and stolen intimacy. What if you weren’t supposed to be with someone – how would you steal away and where would you go? What if you had finally found someone but knew you had to leave – where might you spend your last weekend? Where would you go when you want to savor a moment slowly, when you wanted or needed time to stop? I thought it might be a house like this.
I found myself really fascinated by the intimacy between new lovers: first smile, first kiss, first skin contact. The moment when everything is pure potential, the moment before you become able to hurt each other. It’s a beautiful moment, so fleeting and yet stretching out into forever. So real and yet not real at all; it’s a time when you are more an idea to each other than anything of substance. Dreamlike, imaginary.
Pairs of figures and anthropomorphic landscapes move in, out of and across these compositions. Hands reach for balls of light representing what we most desire, whatever that may be. Full moons and suns appear in the same image, indicating a passing of time. These figures can be read as much as lovers reaching for each other as an individual reaching for the divine – reaching, consciously or unconsciously, towards a fate she is pulled to. Space is depicted across the canvases and within their four edges; many hold interior spaces that pull the viewer in and deeper. While painting this show, I found out I’d be leaving The Desert, for school in The City. This show is my swan song, an ode of gratitude to a place that has given me so much and an invite to the viewer to consider what they might find if they come here too.”
— Alex Maceda, Joshua Tree, August 2024
Updates from the Studio:
I recently moved to New York City (!) and started my MFA (!!) in Painting at the New York Studio School. Going to art school has been a lifelong dream and NYC has always had a special place in my heart, so while this has been a major and also somewhat unexpected transition, I couldn’t be more excited. More to share here in the coming weeks.
Collect: My painting, “Hands of Fate,” was recently included in Visionary Projects’ Group Show “COOL OFF.” It is available to purchase here.
NYC — Save the date, Thu 10/24: I’ll be part of the group show, “Be Right Back” with Gallery Index 8. It’s a fantastic group of artists, some of whom I’ve admired from afar for years, so I am incredibly excited to be included. Save the date for the opening on Thursday 10/24 from 6-9p. I’ll be in attendance!
SF — I’m excited to be included in an upcoming group show at Strike Slip Gallery in December. Follow their Instagram for more updates.
My essay, “The Desert Will Hold You,” was published in No Tokens Journal this summer and was recently nominated for a Best of Net Award for Non-Fiction.
Congratulations on the show, it looks amazing! And good luck in NYC 🧡
Oh my goodness! NYC! That is a huge shift for you- how exciting! I can’t wait to see what all shows up in your work.