Alex Gross

Alex Gross is an American painter, established in the Pop Surrealism movement. Gross is known for his gallery work - oil paintings on canvas and mixed media, which include oils, acrylics and collage. His pop surrealist figurative painting focuses on globalization, advertising, consumerism, and the passage of time. His works reference comic books, classic television characters, and other pop imagery. In that way, the artist succeeds in creating a blend of propaganda, advertising and Surrealism. His goal is to provoke the viewers to think about the effects of branding on their lives and the way they make decisions. It seems to the artist that technology has been developing with the only aim to facilitate promotion of consumption and spending. His works show people who stare at their phones, resembling zombies, or men and women, holding phones, cigarettes and drinks, representing the consumer society. To show that he is not immune to the power of branding, technology and social media, the artist painted a piece entitled Narcissism, which shows a multitude of his self portraits texting, eating junk food and reading a tabloid magazine.