Alex Schaefer
{{Infobox artist
| name = Alex Schaefer
| image =
| image_size =
| caption = Alex Schaefer painting.
| birth_name = Alexander Schaefer
| birth_date = 1969
| birth_place = Los Angeles, California
| field = {{hlist|Painting|Drawing|Sketching
|Spyro}}
| education = {{ubl|item_style={{longitem}}|ArtCenter College of Design (1989 - 1992)}}
| movement = Political
| works = {{plainlist|
- Banks on Fire
}}}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Short description|American artist, painter, and activist}}
Alex Schaefer (born 1969) is an American artist, painter, activist, and educator. He is a notable figure in the Los Angeles contemporary art scene, and has received widespread coverage regarding his series of paintings depicting real-world branches of various banks on fire.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=May 17, 2021|title=Conversations with Alex Schaefer|url=http://sdvoyager.com/interview/conversations-alex-schaefer/|access-date=July 16, 2021|website=SDVoyager - San Diego|language=en-US}}
Early life
Alexander Schaefer was born in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, and is a graduate of the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena.{{Cite web|last=Pierce|first=Alie|date=May 23, 2021|title=An exclusive interview with artist Alex Schaefer|url=https://www.weekendernj.com/post/an-exclusive-interview-with-artist-alex-schaefer|access-date=July 16, 2021|website=WeekenderNJ|language=en}} He has previously worked as a digital artist at Disney Interactive and Insomniac Games, and has taught at California State University, Los Angeles, as well as his alma mater, the ArtCenter College of Design.{{Cite web|title=Alex Schaefer - Irrational Exuberance|url=https://www.cjamesgallery.com/assets/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/schaefer1.pdf|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=Charlie James Gallery}}{{Cite web|last=Gold|first=Jered|date=August 29, 2011|title=Art ... or Terrorism?|url=http://blogs.artcenter.edu/dottedline/2011/08/29/alex-schaaefer-lat/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200304075416/http://blogs.artcenter.edu/dottedline/2011/08/29/alex-schaaefer-lat/|archive-date=March 4, 2020|access-date=July 16, 2021|website=ArtCenter News|publisher=ArtCenter College of Design|language=en-US}}
Artistic career
Schaefer's work has been shown at galleries around California, including the Charlie James Gallery, the Pasadena Museum of California Art, and the Bergamot Station Arts Center.
Alex Schaefer is also one of the co-creators of the popular video game series Spyro the Dragon.[https://www.mobygames.com/game/3633/spyro-the-dragon/credits/playstation/ "Spyro the Dragon (1998) PlayStation credits - MobyGames"][https://www.mobygames.com/person/187896/alexander-schaefer/ "Alexander Schaefer - MobyGames"]
The artist has received attention for his series of oil paintings portraying various banks in the Los Angeles area on fire, done en plein air in front of the buildings themselves.{{Cite web|last=Pool|first=Bob|date=August 28, 2011|title=An artist's incendiary painting is his bank statement|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/la-xpm-2011-aug-28-la-me-bank-painting-20110828-story.html|access-date=July 16, 2021|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last=Massara|first=Kathleen|date=July 23, 2012|title='Burning Banks' Artist Arrested For Chalk Drawing|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/alexander-schaefer-burnin_n_1696870|access-date=July 16, 2021|website=HuffPost|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=June 24, 2021|title=Alex Schaefer is setting banks on fire with his paintings, and the Bitcoin community is eating his art up|url=https://therooster.com/articles/alex-schaefer-is-setting-banks-on-fire-with-his-paintings-and-the-bitcoin-community-is-eating-his-art-up|access-date=July 16, 2021|website=Rooster Magazine|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=September 21, 2011|title=Alex Schaefer, Burning Bank Artist, Sells A Piece For $25,200|url=https://hivegallery.com/press/alex-schaefer-burning-bank-artist-sells-a-piece-for-25200/|access-date=July 16, 2021|website=Hive Gallery|language=en-US}} Much of the work in the series focuses on branches of Chase Bank, though other banks such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo have been depicted as well. The subject matter, as well as his presence near the buildings that he paints, has resulted in Schaefer being questioned by law enforcement at several instances.{{Cite web|title=Painting Of A Burning Bank Fetches $25,000 At Auction|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2011/09/13/140436789/painting-of-a-burning-bank-fetches-25-000-at-auction|access-date=July 16, 2021|website=NPR|date=September 13, 2011|language=en|last1=Peralta|first1=Eyder}}{{Cite web|last=Russeth|first=Andrew|date=August 29, 2011|title=Artist Paints Burning Banks, Attracting Police Attention|url=https://observer.com/2011/08/artists-paints-burning-banks-attracting-police-attention/|access-date=July 16, 2021|website=Observer|language=en-US}} The series began evolving in 2009, with the most publicized being painted in front of a Chase Bank in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles in 2011.{{Cite web|date=August 10, 2012|title=Art Threat: Alex Schaefer's Plein Air Protests|url=https://www.kcet.org/shows/artbound/art-threat-alex-schaefers-plein-air-protests|access-date=July 16, 2021|website=KCET|language=en}}
In July 2012, Schaefer was arrested after creating chalk drawings on the sidewalk outside of a Chase Bank in Los Angeles. He spent twelve hours in jail on a misdemeanor vandalism charge.{{Cite web|last=Stephens|first=Craig|date=July 24, 2012|title=Alex Schaefer: Street Artist Speaks Out About His Arrest for Chalking at a Chase Bank|url=https://www.laweekly.com/alex-schaefer-street-artist-speaks-out-about-his-arrest-for-chalking-at-a-chase-bank/|access-date=July 16, 2021|website=LA Weekly|language=en-US}}
Schaefer has previously{{when|date=December 2021}} sold paintings in his Banks on Fire series, with one painting fetching upwards of $25,000. The series has also attracted attention from those active in the Bitcoin community, members of which Schaefer says are drawn to the imagery of traditional financial institutions on fire, and who have been the source of some of his sales of the series.
Schaefer has also created a series of NFT art pieces. Some of the pieces were displayed in an NFT showcase at Superchief Gallery, a New York City art gallery.{{Cite web|last=Chang|first=Brittany|title=A NYC gallery just became the first to display crypto art physically — see how it works|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-gallery-display-nft-art-crypto-art-2021-3|access-date=July 16, 2021|website=Business Insider|language=en-US}}
On September 14, 2023, Alex Schaefer ranked first on a list titled "The 9 Top Bitcoin Artists."{{Cite web|last=Myers|first=Jesse|title=The 9 Best Artists in Bitcoin |url=https://www.onceinaspecies.com/p/the-9-best-artists-in-bitcoin|access-date=September 14, 2023|website=Once In A Species|language=en-US}}
References
{{Reflist|2}}
External links
- [https://paintwithalex.com/ Alex Schaefer's website]
- [http://alexanderschaefer.blogspot.com/ Alex Schaefer on Blogger]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaefer, Alexander}}
Category:20th-century American painters
Category:ArtCenter College of Design alumni
Category:American contemporary artists