Alex Echo | Water

Alex Echo | Water

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FOREWORD

Water.

It has many identities. Gently rippling lakes freeze into ice ponds that will begin to crack and splinter when the sun’s warmth coaxes the frozen mass back into liquid form. It can softly simmer and boil ferociously, eventually leaving none of its former self behind, as it makes its steamy ascent towards the heavens, blocking out the aforementioned sun in its new guise as gauzy clouds. As beautiful as it is deadly; as constant and reliable as it is unpredictable and transient. It is elemental, yet complicated. Both friend and foe, neither ally nor enemy exclusively. In abundance it floods and destroys, in scarcity it ravages and brings us to our knees. It has inspired many a poem, painting, piece of music; but why? Is it because water is our main component, coursing through our bodies, sustaining us and powering the physiology that allows these works to be created by the human hand? Is it because we realise we are neither its master nor its slave, and thus seek to reconcile the hierarchy, taking ownership of this powerful element by ‘capturing’ it in artistic mediums? Perhaps it is purely because water has been responsible for some of the greatest wonders of the natural world, by far more beautiful and beyond the realms of anything manmade. Thus water becomes our challenge, our raison d’être as evolved beings. If one can harness water as a subject, show it due respect and justify the hubris with an end result worthy of the undertaking, have we transcended the natural order? This dichotomy is the driving force behind Alex Echo’s collection ‘Water’. To the artist, water is both life and death, light and shade. Its movement has long mesmerised him, and inspires his ongoing opus ‘The Infinite Ballet’. Yet conversely it also holds a primal fear for him, ever since a narrow escape from its depths in early childhood. And yet, is it not true of humanity to be drawn towards that which renders us powerless, to seek answers in the unquestionable and aim to conquer our fears by better understanding the root cause? It has long been used as a source of inspiration, both from visual artists Monet to Turner, and also by composers, such as Handel, Vivaldi and Debussy, such is its siren call. ‘Water’ provides a visual journey that moves the viewer between heightened emotional states. Taking up the artistic mantle with aplomb, Echo harnesses the fluidity and élan of the world’s most bountiful resource to flow between each piece, breathing life into the fluid narrative of this collection.

The Sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.

- Jacques Yves Cousteau

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ALEX ECHO // WATERFALL NO 1, 2, 3 & 4 // 64 x 64cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

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ALEX ECHO // WATERFALL NO 5, 6, 7 & 8 // 64 x 64cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

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ALEX ECHO // WATERFALL NO 9, 10, 11 & 12 // 64 x 64cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

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ALEX ECHO // WATERFALL NO 13, 14, 15 & 16 // 64 x 64cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

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ALEX ECHO // WATERFALL NO 17, 18, 19 & 20 // 64 x 64cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

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ALEX ECHO // WATERFALL NO 21, 22, 23 & 24 // 64 x 64cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

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ALEX ECHO // WATERFALL NO 25, 26, 27 & 28 // 64 x 64cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

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ALEX ECHO // WATERFALL NO 29, 30, 31 & 32 // 64 x 64cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

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ALEX ECHO // WATERFALL NO 33, 34, 35 & 36 // 64 x 64cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

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ALEX ECHO // WATERFALL NO 37, 38, 39 & 40 // 64 x 64cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

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ALEX ECHO // WATERFALL NO 41, 42, 43 & 44 // 64 x 64cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

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ALEX ECHO // WATERFALL NO 45, 46, 47 & 48 // 64 x 64cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

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ALEX ECHO // WATERFALL NO 49 & 50 // 64 x 64cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

ALEX ECHO // WATERFALL NO 1 - 48 OF 50

BIOGRAPHY

Alex Echo was born in the USA, in Colorado, on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. Alex now lives full time in the UK, on a farm in West Sussex with his daughter, Jazzi-Bella. Alex has been a professional artist for over 35 years, painting simply because he loves to. In those 35 years he has embraced a constant sense of learning, learning more about his own art and art history in general. “I feel it to be a great gift in my life to be a part of and to carry on in the craft and tradition of the artists who have inspired me and have come before” The genesis of all of Alex’s work is nature - nature with a deep respect for art history and a profound desire to create something new and original. Artists from all genres - from Pre-Raphaelite, and Impressionism, to Minimalism and Abstract Expressionism, to Art Nouveau and Pop Art have all inspired him and informed his artwork. Alex Echo’s artwork is unique and instantly recognisable, using a technique that has never been seen before. His paintings resonate with the beauty and history of Impressionism, yet they speak with a contemporary voice and structure of abstraction and even minimalism. Trying to synthesise the many schools of painting that he has admired over the years, Alex’s paintings seek to find a balance between the past and present, history and the contemporary. Each of his artworks is a ballet between light, water, colour and time, and Alex trys to capture all in each new painting. Every artwork is built up from several thousand brushstrokes and movements. Every painting is an attempt to see and feel that dance of colour, and light reflected in a flower, a tree, a hillside or the sea. Now a full time resident, Alex says that he is deeply in love with England: “I am in love with this sea faring island nation. It is a lush garden fully surrounded by endless sea views, sunrises and sunsets. I try with my paintings to honour this place -this England where my young daughter is growing up. There is an endless supply of inspiration here - an unlimited palette and viewpoint. I am lucky to be here.” In honour of his respect for the country and landscape around him, Alex strives to work as green and sustainably as possible, using the highest quality water based paints available. The resin he uses to create his unique “liquid effect” is as non-toxic, and low carbon footprint as the technology currently allows. The drips and spills of the paint falling off the sides of each artwork are even collected and saved

after they have dried to be used in future, large scale paintings. In Alex’s studio nothing is wasted. Alex Echo’s artwork is highly collectable and can be found in the collections of people as varied as HSH Prince Rainier of Monaco, Oprah Winfrey, Robert Downey Jr., Cindy Crawford, and former President Jimmy Carter. His work both small and very large scale can be found in numerous corporate and private collections around the world. Charity work and the support of his local community are very important to Alex. Through his artwork he has had the great opportunity to give back to the world that has brought him such success, inspired greatly by his beloved daughter. The sale of Alex’s artwork has contributed over £500,000+ to various organisations and institutions including The Princess Grace Foundation, The Prince’s Trust, Teenage Cancer Trust, Nordoff Robbins, Aids Project Los Angeles, AMFAR, The Elton John Aids Foundation and, most recently, WaterAid. Alex is also very proud of the sale of 10 of his paintings at the Wallace Collection in London, from which all the proceeds were given toward the rebuilding of a school and dormitory in south western China after this region was devastated by an earthquake. This afforded him the opportunity to travel to one of the most remote regions of China and to meet some of the children who now have a new and safe place to study and grow. New projects on the horizon for Alex include working with the World Food Program, UNICEF and the United Nations. Alex has worked on exciting collaborative projects with iconic fashion designer, Sir Paul Smith, who developed a fabric design from one of Alex’s paintings. “Classic With A Twist” was used by Paul Smith as a principle print design for his 2011 Couture Women’s Wear line. Alex was able to watch his artwork walk down the catwalk during London Fashion Week. At the request of legendary recording artist and guitarist Eric Clapton in 2012, Alex Echo painted one of Clapton’s own Fender Stratocasters, which was auctioned to benefit the recovery facility The Crossroads Centre in Antigua, founded by Eric Clapton, raising £20,000 for the charity. “Basically my artwork is dedicated to my daughter, and to her generation and generations to come - and to the new paradigm of “green and sustainable”, to a healthy earth. It is dedicated to the beauty of England and the world as a whole. I don’t need to say anything with my art - but hopefully my artwork will inspire anyone who sees it to look at the world as a beautiful and mysterious finite place. A place to be loved and protected.”

We forget that the water and life cycle are one.

- Andre Gide

The sea, the great unifier, is man’s only hope. Now, as never before, the old phrase has a literal meaning: we are all in the same boat.

- Jacques Yves Cousteau

ALEX ECHO // ANICCA // SCULPTURE

ALEX ECHO // REFLECTIONS OF WILLOWS ON THE THAMES // 100 x 100 // RESIN ON BOXED BOARD

ALEX ECHO // EARLY MORNING REFLECTIONS ON AN ENGLISH DAY // 100 x 100cm // RESIN ON BOXED BOARD

ALEX ECHO // CLOUDS REFLECTING ON AN ENGLISH DAY // 100 x 100 // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

ALEX ECHO // REFLECTIONS ON THE AMAZON // 100 x 100 // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

ALEX ECHO // ICY THAMES // 100 x 100cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

ALEX ECHO // RAINDROPS // 100 x 100cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

ALEX ECHO // AFTERNOON CLOUD REFLECTED // 100 x 100cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

ALEX ECHO // SUNSET ON AN AMAZON WATERFALL // 100 x 100cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

ALEX ECHO // RIPPLE REFLECTIONS ABSTRACTED SOUTH BANK MIDNIGHT 1 // 100 x 100cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

ALEX ECHO // RIPPLE REFLECTIONS ABSTRACTED SOUTH BANK MIDNIGHT 2 // 100 x 100cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

ALEX ECHO // DEEP CALM TIDE // 100 x 122cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

ALEX ECHO // SUNSET REFLECTIONS ON THE AMAZON // 100 x 122cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

ALEX ECHO // RAINFOREST WATERFALL REFLECTION 1 // 102 x 130cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA ON STAINLESS STEEL

ALEX ECHO // RAINFOREST WATERFALL REFLECTION 2 // 102 x 122cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA ON STAINLESS STEEL

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: ALEX ECHO // IN THE TIDE POOL // VARIOUS // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

ALEX ECHO // IN THE TIDE POOL 2 // 91 x 91cm // RESIN ON BOXED BOARD

THE FORMATION OF THE RIPPLES INTO THE REFLECTIONS: ALEX ECHO // THAMES MIDNIGHT 2 & 3 // 153 x 38cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN

THAMES MIDNIGHT 1 // 153 x 230cm // BOXED MIXED MEDIA & RESIN