This feeling of unity of human and animal, man and beast forms the basis of Alexandra Eldridge’s latest body of work. Well-known as a painter who works with unconventional materials like Venetian plaster, antique and Chinese scrolls, and old fragments or ephemera from times past, she is now working with turn-of-the-century glass plate negatives.

It all started when a friend gave Eldridge a collection of glass plate negatives she found while clearing out her attic. They were portraits of children, taken between 1870 and 1910 by a studio in Houston, Texas. Eldridge began to transform the glass negatives by printing life-size images and then painting newly imagined worlds, dreamscapes filled with the unexpected.

This combination of old and new, literal and mystical emphasizes the transience of life as well as the connection between our animal selves and the dignity and mindfulness of the creatures who share this planet. These distinctive, playful, and often haunting images carry a message that goes beyond the artworks themselves—they serve as a powerful and very timely reminder that everything is connected: all is one and one is all.

-Alexandra Eldridge

 

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Alexandra Eldridge, born of artist parents received her BA in Art and literature at Ohio University. She co-founded an establishment for the arts, Golgonooza, based upon the philosophies of William Blake. She has had over forty solo shows, and has participated in many group shows throughout the U.S. as well as many international exhibitions.

She has exhibited in Paris, London, Belgrade, Ljubljana, New York, California, and Santa Fe. Alexandra has painted murals in the Place de Vosges, Paris, and her work has been used for the cover of twenty books of poetry. Travelling, as an important part of her inspiration, has led her to artist’s residencies on the Island of Elba, Italy, and the Valparaiso Foundation in Spain. Alexandra has been featured in Art News, Art LTD, Art On Paper, New American Painting, and American Art Collector. Her work can be found in the collections of William Hurt, Steve Buscemi, and Edie Falco, along with many other prestigious collections. Learn more about Alexandra at her website: alexandraeldridge.com.