Alexandra Leyre Mein
Bio / Statement
Alexandra Leyre Mein works capture the everlasting battle between human unconscious desires and the intellectual self. She translates these themes into figurative or abstract sculptures that are both contemporary and yet seem to come from another age. Movement and tension emerges from the encounter between organic forms and clean, pristine, edged shapes in her plaster sculptures, symbolizing human nature and its societal/environmental interactions. These complex relationships are portrayed using multifaceted sculptural forms, each facet exposing a unique perspective. The characteristic unfinished aspect of her sculptures reinforces the feeling of movement, as in a three-dimensional sketch. They can be interpreted as if still in construction and growing, although they might also be seen as being at the dawn of their demise. This duality of interpretation is central to her work.
Alexandra Leyre Mein (Brussels, Belgium 1979) graduated from the fashion department at the Royal academy of Antwerp. In 2008 she switched over to visual arts, and started sculpting as an autodidact. Her work has been exhibited in Europe at Palais d’Iléna, White House gallery, Aeroplastics, Maison Particulière, Botanique, and in New York at the Clemente Center, New House Center for Contemporary Art, and Anton Kern Gallery. Besides her sculptural practice, Alexandra continues to work with dancers and choreographers. She has designed and made sets and costumes in collaboration with e.g., Damien Jalet. These creations have been shown at Palazzo Fortuny, during the Venice Biennial, the festival d’Avignon, and at the Louvre in Paris. Alexandra now lives and works between Brussels, Belgium and Brooklyn, USA.
Pharate - 2014
hydrostone - black iron oxide - mesh wire - cheesecloth - rebar
96 x 34 x 49 cm
Chalcedony III (wall)- 2017
Hydrostone, black iron oxide, mesh wire, cheesecloth, pigments, glass beads and one-way mirror
35 x 51 x 20 inches
Purifications project rooms- 2017 - W 186 at Aeroplastics, Brussels
Imperial System - 2017
hydrostone - mesh wire - cheesecloth - metal - pigments - glass - imperial system ruler
81 x 42 x 50 cm