Alex Kerr

Whole Ham

New Low is pleased to present Whole Ham, an exhibition by Los Angeles based artist Alex Kerr. 

Alex Kerr is equal parts fine artist and stage director - making scenes and props and actors for a twisted theatre that plays out backstage and in front of an audience. A troupe of repeating characters play the roles - troubadours, wizards, snowmen, jack-o-lanterns, spiders - all of whom are pathetic, bashful, and ashamed, some with a violent streak. Yet each figure is funny, inviting, sympathetic (when we first met, Kerr told me his work was about “gay sadness” - the pun was not lost on me). While decidedly dark, and sometimes sloppy, all of Kerr’s work reveals a clear confidence and joy (and mastery) in making - these works fuck. 

At the center of Whole Ham is a series of works titled Anything can be a rock. Nine ceramic sculptures, whose bases are culled from castoffs, his own and former classmates’, are each punctuated (penetrated) with a forged ceramic sword. They put the epic in epic fail, fantastically depicting the creative process, the plight of the artist, how does one become unstuck? 

Two new paintings flank the show. Perfect Pair depicts a bust, with clock nipples, a not so subtle reference to FGT and a reminder to “Be Here Now”. Two ceramic snowmen sit atop the work - one angel, one demon - two sides of one conscience, not battling, just chilling. Stupid shows a vase of flowers and a greeting card with the word “idiot” across the front. No matter if it's a sympathy card or a congratulations, it’s still sending love.

In a corner leans Thunder, an eight foot saw with stars cut out. Aspirational in both scale and symbols, there’s more here about the artist’s toil, about editing, about a scene or work gone awry. Above it all, the word “OMINOUS” looms. Built in the style of an applause sign, this text, like Kerr’s cast of characters, begs for attention, mercy, and validation. 

Almost in the back of the gallery, Beautiful Mirror is one last study in contrasts - a beautifully hand-made, hand-held “mirror” projects an ugly face, flowers grow from the frame, it’s gilded in white gold. There’s something about a pep-talk here; I picture an actor backstage before the show, trying desperately to build up nerves - “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, I’m going to slay…” 

Alex Kerr, (b. 1989, Norfolk, Virginia, USA) is a Sagittarius Sun, Taurus Moon, and Capricorn Rising. He received his BFA from Georgia State University (2015) and MFA from UCLA (2022). He lives and works in Los Angeles.