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Alex Prager

Hong Kong

Mar 12–May 16, 2015

Photograph by Alex Prager

407 Pedder Building, 12 Pedder Street

Central, Hong Kong

Lehmann Maupin will present Alex Prager’s debut exhibition in Hong Kong from March 12 through May 16, 2015. Continuing her exploration of the psychological experiences of crowds and the individuals within them, Prager will exhibit five new, large-scale photographs as well as video work.

Celebrated for her meticulously constructed, theatrical, and richly cinematic images, Prager, a Los Angeles-based artist, is inspired by a wide range of influences, from popular culture, to street photography, to the cinematic history of Hollywood. The artist is also interested in the ways in which audiences perceive and experience the pervasive cultural power of Hollywood films. These references infuse Prager’s works with a narrative quality, leading the viewer to speculate on the “before and after” of the moment and characters depicted in her images.

Installation view of Alex Prager at Lehmann Maupin Hong Kong
Installation Views: 1 of 4
Photograph by Alex Prager

Alex Prager

Culver City, 2014

Photograph by Alex Prager

Alex Prager

Burbank, 2014

Installation view of Alex Prager at Lehmann Maupin Hong Kong
Installation Views: 1 of 4

Books and Editions

Portrait of Alex Prager

Alex Prager (b. 1979, Los Angeles, CA; lives and works in Los Angeles, CA) is an American artist, director and screenwriter based in Los Angeles. Prager is known for her uncanny images and films that blur the line between artifice and reality to explore the human condition. Prager has spent over two decades honing her signature style, which draws on traditional movie making techniques from golden-era period styles (like film noir and Technicolor), classical mythology, and the allegorical works of Dutch Renaissance painters Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Brugel. Over time, large-scale productions have become synonymous with her work.

Working simultaneously across film, photography, and sculpture, Prager constructs highly emotional moments that feel like a fabricated memory or dream. Her distinctive use of archetypes, everyday objects, humor, and allegory—along with her signature technicolor facades—allow her to explore dark and complex topics. Existential concerns are central to her practice, including collective and individual identities and the impact of technology on society. Like the psychological works of artists including Alfred Hitchcock, Edward Hopper, Pipilotti Rist, August Sanders, and Bill Viola, Prager’s work invites the viewer to contemplate the human experience by revealing that the extraordinary lurks within the ordinary.

Learn about the artist