Quiet Ruptures | Alexander Squier

Art League Houston (ALH) is proud to present Quiet Ruptures, an exhibition by Houston-based artist Alexander Squier. Quiet Ruptures is a selection of new and recent drawings and printmaking works, inspired by the push and pull between the natural and built environments, as embodied everywhere in Houston in the form of crushed curbs, submerged sidewalks, leaning telephone poles, and masses of concrete juxtaposed with the occasional vine or palm. The images in the exhibition consider and extrapolate from ubiquitous elements of the urban environment, as well as specific examples that are iconic within the Houston vernacular. Squier states “I am interested in relationships between people (myself included), their structures and infrastructures, and the natural landscape. How do trends in urban development, construction, and economics reflect culture or philosophy? My aim is to develop a better understanding of what forces are behind this constant state of flux, and to incite thoughtfulness regarding the decisions involved.”

Squier enjoys imagining the world through the lens of time on a grander scale, and is drawn to ruins and archaeological sites, where the dynamic between nature and human monuments plays out over centuries. Both in ancient places and modern cities, if left unchecked for long enough, nature quickly reasserts itself. As structures are slowly swallowed up, or disintegrate, their meaning becomes hidden, and harder to decipher.