African-American artist and activist Alexandria Smith brings her 3D paintings to Asia with exhibition at Gagosian Gallery in Hong Kong

New York mixed-media artist Alexandria Smith’s canvases blend mythology and surrealism, showing part-human figures ‘on a journey toward selfhood’ in zany worlds

In Hong Kong for the first time for her show ‘Stirrings of a Polymorphous Bloom’ at Gagosian, she reveals her impressions of the city and what inspires her art

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Alexandria Smith’s “Seers Like Me” (2023) is one of 15 pieces that comprise her first Asian solo exhibition at Hong Kong’s Gagosian Gallery. The African-American mixed media artist talks about her first impressions of Hong Kong, and what inspires her. Photo: Martin Wong, courtesy of Gagosian

Published: 11:15am, 27 Nov 2023

When you walk into Gagosian Gallery in Hong Kong, you’re greeted by a painting titled The Wayfinders. In it two naked, armless primordial figures stand beneath two moons and bend over a column of black discs, transfixed by the flames emerging from the portals.

Speaking at her debut solo exhibition in Asia, the New York artist Alexandria Smith says she hopes visitors will be equally intrigued by the strange worlds that she’s created.

“I have always been fascinated by cross cultures, fables, myths and how the world is created. That’s a collective fate that we all share. There’s an origin story for every culture, so I always think about what is the origin story of the work I am making,” she says.

The exhibition, titled “Stirrings of a Polymorphous Bloom”, comprises 15 new works, some in mixed media and others on paper.

“The Wayfinders” (2023), by Alexandria Smith. Photo: Prudence Cuming, courtesy of Gagosian

Her worlds leap out at you. The meticulous layering of materials creates textured and three-dimensional pieces that feature fantastical, part-human creatures which seem half-formed.