A spokesperson says---
"...Across drawings, kinetic sculptures and performances, A Bag of Tricks considers aspects of performative life through the language of theater and the circus. Whether anchored by the jester’s sense of humor, the mystery of a magic show or emotional chords in music, the works speak to one’s many desires and the multifaceted nature of the self..."
"...A Bag of Tricks features graphite drawings in artist’s frames that represent performances on- and off-stage. Six drawings show solo performers standing in a spotlight, set in stepped wood frames that act as steps to the stage of the drawing surface. Other drawings depict performers’ bags of tricks, closed instrument cases and containers backstage that hold equipment for the show. Placed throughout are references to Alexander Forest’s idols: virtuosic musician, singer and composer Owen Pallett; the historic drag aerialist performer Barbette; Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’ case of small tools they bring out to all their shows; and Mary Poppins’ magical carpet bag..."
"...Two sculptures expand on the thematic and conceptual threads found in the drawings. Central to the show is an oversized briefcase, left closed and rendered in colored pencils and pastels with the same careful hand displayed in the drawings... It’s Curtains (2025) is a kinetic miniature circus tent where the curtain opening reveals smaller rotating circus tents inside. Only when all the openings line up can one see through to the innermost, empty, circle..."
"...The works act as parallels to the life of a visual artist, with performance akin to putting on an exhibition and instrument cases alluding to the tools and materials needed for drawing. In his broader practice, Alexander Forest makes drawing-sculpture replicas of overlooked everyday objects, from pieces of domestic furniture he comes across in person and through media, to forms he encounters in nature. While the drawings and sculptures in A Bag of Tricks mark a divergence, the performances remain connected as they present a set of curated songs he covers, building upon his practice of making a rendition of found, already existing objects..."
"...Across a dark empty stage, a rotating cast of performers step on and off the frame. A ringleader, a violinist, a magician, an aerialist, a jester, and a one-man band, each traced and described by the gleam of the spotlight, bare their life’s work. Walk down to the backstage and you’ll find their bags of tricks. Cases that held and safely transported tools for their acts now sit and await the end. The lights go out, the bags are packed. We leave behind the stage and the stripes of the tent that lured us in to peer. After the show is over, what is left?..."
