Alix S Mitgang is a visual artist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Making art has been a constant in her life.
Alix's figurative, abstract and expressionist works in acrylics have been called at once primitive, modern and futuristic. They reflect a range experiences. "Living and traveling all over the US and across the globe (at age 13 I already counted 13 different places, including every region of the US but the south, and the Far East), I lived many perspectives, customs, as both an insider and an outsider, as one similar and different from those around me. As early as I can remember I've advocated for fairness on behalf of those less seen, in struggle, and disenfranchised, usually immigrants, women, homeless. There's a thread that I see connecting everyone, that I want to share, and all these experiences, along with my exploration of the ancient and the new, help me perceive the Universal among us, the beauty in mundane tasks as well as epic moments, and inspire me.
"Most pieces are a tribute or memorial to an issue meaningful to me. One depicts the facets and flaws of a gemstone and the figure of its miner who suffered to produce it. Another is of a child in a field of landmines. Another - people leaving one struggle and entering the unknown.
"Most pieces are a tribute or memorial to an issue meaningful to me. One depicts the facets and flaws of a gemstone and the figure of its miner who suffered to produce it. Another is of a child in a field of landmines. Another - people leaving one struggle and entering the unknown.
" I may or may not have an image in mind for the canvas when I approach it, however. Color, especially jewel tones, a moment in time, contrast and pattern draw me, and mood leads me as I work. Sometimes the direction my work takes me surprises me."
Every painting begins by layering veils of color. Density, layering technique, timing of pigment and other applications, range broadly, and allow for distinct elements to emerge. At various stages she removes pigment, enhancing what she sees. "I'm very messy and physical with my canvases. I often turn them as I work - besides giving me access for whatever I'm doing, turning can offer different images, feelings altogether, and I have found the direction I paint and the way I, and others, choose to hang a canvas may be very different from how I created it.
"I began as a photographer and ceramicist and drew very detailed pieces in pen and ink, charcoal and pastels . I took a break from these as I moved into painting, but I've always snapped pictures. Until Covid 19, my focus in photography had shifted to recording a moment and inspiration or reference for my paintings. Taking walks has helped me during the shift in how we live life, and allowed me to see differently the images I'd taken before and what I see now.
I've also found many of my digital images to be abstract, painterly. There are pieces that bridge the two categories. "
I've also found many of my digital images to be abstract, painterly. There are pieces that bridge the two categories. "