Alexandra Gallagher

Lancashire-born Alexandra Gallagher (born 1980) is a multidisciplinary artist who explores notions of feminism, sexuality and identity with her skillfully executed surreal portraits. Her fairytale graphics take the form of collages, paintings, prints and more, and typically present seductive belles in imaginative, spiritual worlds. Alexandra’s work stands out for its ability to lead observers beyond the comfort of their usual subjective realms.

Alexandra Gallagher’s Career

Alexandra is known for working on large public scale murals and paste-ups, often for street art events around the UK, but is perhaps most coveted for her limited edition fine art prints and collages such as When The Storm Came. The artist is said to take her inspiration from the experiences of women in Western society, hence the subtle political undertones of her work. Her chic and ornamental creations have received worldwide critical acclaim for their beauty and experimental take on modern surrealist painting.

Style and Practice

Symptomatic of Surrealist ideologies, Alexandra’s practice harnesses unbridled and seemingly irrational visuals as well as dreamlike symbolism. She imbues her paintings and prints with floral and botanical tropes, formalist geometric shapes and lines, as well as themes of spirituality and religion, such as is seen in The Heart and Tongue of Virtue (2016), digital print. All her pieces have a certain late-Baroque aesthetic and a pearly, almost metallic sheen, providing her nymph-like subjects with a lucid and deceptively holy resonance.

Exhibitions and Accolades

The award-winning artist has enjoyed prizes and nominations for the London Contemporary Art Award (2018), Saatchi Showdown Surrealism, Zealous X (2015), Secret Art Prize (2016) and our very own Rise Art Prize (2017). Her work has achieved transatlantic success in the US, as well as been exhibited in Singapore, Ireland and all across the UK.