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Tessa AlexanderContact: ntaalex@yahoo.com http://www.wix.com/tessaalexander/tessas-website http://tessaalexanderart.blogspot.com/
Born in Trinidad I have always enjoyed creative expression and can remember wanting to be an artist since childhood. After completing high school at Bishop Anstey, I went on to study Fashion Design and Merchandising at the International Academy of Design and Technology and worked in that field producing my own label for approx. 10 years. During that time I represented Trinidad and Tobago at the Pret a Porter and Igedo fashion weeks and worked on several costuming and design projects including “Jean and Dinah”, for which I was nominated best costuming at the Cacique awards. In 1998 after taking a few courses at the Ontario College of Art and Design I entered a few of my paintings in a group exhibition. Encouraged by the response I decided to make a career switch and put my creative expression into painting having my first solo exhibition in 2004. Since then I have held 5 solo exhibitions and participated in several group exhibitions. I have done illustrations for Caribbean Beat and TIBs Christmas cards, designed the logo for Mamatoto birthing centre and began teaching Art to children as I felt that it was still something not encouraged enough and with children being naturally creative I felt it my duty. In 2004 I was given an artist residency at CCA7 after which I began renting a studio there as committing to a space dedicated to my practice would allow my work to grow. In 2005 I was invited on an artist residency to Delhi, India for six weeks and to a workshop in Nairobi Kenya in 2007. My work can be found in collections in Germany, Canada, the US and regionally. At present I maintain a studio from my home and remain committed to my practice and to the education of children hosting weekly art classes and camps.
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I have a great interest in cultural anthropology and my work reflects this. My aim is to create work that appeals to the viewer in an emotional way by creating pieces that portray elements of humanity that are taken for granted or that are perceived as ugly, unacceptable or “backward”, but that nevertheless make up a very important aspect of our society and therefore asks us to think about where we have come from and where we are going. Although watercolour has been my chosen medium I have also worked in Oils, ink, conté and graphite, and have added elements of collage (handmade papers and/or newspaper clippings) to some of my pieces.
