Alex Da Corte
Thursday, 8 November 2012
Work from his oeuvre.
“Mr. Da Corte’s work revisits the objects and fascinations we’ve left behind by using low-cost items the way Jim Hodges uses bodily fluids. However, while Mr. Da Corte references Abjection, and artists like Mr. Hodges and Eva Hesse, the approach is different.
“It’s kind of that romanticism with objects,” said Mr. Sheftel, “but in a different way. Rather than bodily fluids, [Mr. Da Corte’s] looking at things like shampoo. Shampoo is a really intimate substance. We put it on our bodies, it seeps into us. It gets under our skin. So it’s not really abjection, but it’s related—it looks at the things that are close to us now. It’s a different conversation when Alex is going to the dollar store in Philly and using that as his art supply store and looking at off-brand soda, shampoo, and low-level items that engage in a conversation about class and race.”
“I am attracted to these items for their accessibility,” Mr. Da Corte told Gallerist via email. “Despite their common place, they offer promises of escape and pleasure through smell, color and texture. Framing shampoo, removes its utility, allowing me to reconsider it as a voyeur and scientist.”
Mr. Da Corte’s upbringing also heavily informs his work. “There’s a Philly bent too, I think,” said Mr. Sheftel. “Looking in Fishtown, Philadelphia. He grew up in Camden and went to Philly for school.” Mr. Da Corte, who divides his time between New York and Philadelphia has an upcoming solo presentation at its Institute of Contemporary Art.”- Gallerist NY