Biography

Alex Bierk’s paintings are dually photo realistic and figuratively expressionistic. They are an archive both of is own personal experiences, memories, and observed histories within the smalltown urban landscapes and environments that surround him. Though sourced from photographs he himself has taken, his paintings have a timeless quality to them, transcending a fixed moment and instead of​ compressing a history of memories and moments into a single image. Bierk’s most recent body of work deals with his hometown and current residence Petersborough, ON, exploring his own experiences with addiction and loss, transformative histories and experiences of place, archiving life and memories in this small town, and growing from childhood to fatherhood within its context. Alex Bierk was born and raised in Peterborough, ON, where he currently lives and works today with his wife and three children. Bierk has presented works internationally, with a recent solo show “Memory, Memory, Memory” at Mulherin Gallery New York in Summer 2017. Bierk was a 2013 finalist for the Kingston Prize and has received grants from both the Toronto and Ontario Arts Councils, and the Canada Council for the Arts. Bierk’s work has been exhibited in numerous group and solo exhibitions as well as multiple art fairs, including Art Toronto, Scope (Miami), Papier 14 (Montreal), and Art Southampton. Bierk recently self-published a book of watercolors in collaboration with Jackson Creek Press.