The universe of Alexandra Grant, the artist who captivated Keanu Reeves and now edits our literature.
For some years now, any search for the artist Alexandra Grant will inevitably lead to a handful of photographs showing her with her partner, the actor Keanu Reeves , to references to her dresses at galas, the reasons that led the protagonist of The Matrix and John Wick to surrender to her, and to their respective ages.
However, Grant already had a virtuoso career before this romance , traveling the world and building her own perspective linked to her artistic output: "I'm interested in the eccentric, in the sense of that which doesn't come from the center. Nor from just one university, one school of thought, one gender or type of person. Excellence comes from all over the world , and that's why we have to be open to the world," she tells Cultura . This is the first interview she's given in our country.
It's early morning in Los Angeles, and Grant settles in front of the camera with ease. She speaks a delightful Spanish, forged from a Mexican childhood and a life that took her to Mexico, France, Africa, and the Middle East . She has just published the English translation of the book Todo lo que crece: naturaleza y escritura (Everything That Grows: Nature and Writing ) by Argentine Clara Obligado , from the independent publishing house X Artists' Books , which she founded with her partner and designer Jessica Fleischmann. From there, she also published Palabras ajenas (Other Words) by artist León Ferrari .
Words are important to Alexandra Grant. Not only now, in her role as an editor, but also before, since the beginning of her artistic career, as a tool or material in which to intervene. Trained at the University of California, San Francisco, School of the Arts, with a master's degree in drawing and painting, her first solo exhibition took place in 2007, organized by curator Alma Ruiz, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles (MOCA).
The catalogue for that exhibition already linked a vision, its influences, and its poetics: alongside the large-scale reproduction of Grant's works on paper, there was an essay by the curator alongside another by French philosopher Hélène Cixous , whom the artist considers her "intellectual mother." Because writers, books, and words have always conversed in her work . They do so now, too.
Alexandra Grant. Photo: Piotr Jamski, courtesy.
In addition to her creations as an artist and editor, she also supports philanthropic work through grantLOVE , a platform that produces and sells original works of art and editions to benefit artistic projects and non-profit organizations.
In 2015, Grant presented his painting "Antigone 3000," inspired by the Greek myth and a particular line from Sophocles' play: in it, Antigone confronts her uncle and monarch, Creon, and says, "I was born to love, not to hate." Words as a trigger but also as artistic material. The works from this series toured the Barnsdall Art Center and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
Also participating in this midday video call in Buenos Aires is Berlin-based Argentine editor Nicole Hervás Ibáñez, part of the X Artists' Books team. She was the one who suggested Clara Obligado's book. It's no coincidence: Grant believes in the bond between women.
–I'm fascinated by the word "recognize" because it contains this idea that we've known each other before; when we 'recognize' something, it's because we've already known it. So, this idea that we wander around lost in the world (and sometimes in our minds), without focus or knowing where we should be, both physically and spiritually, and suddenly we recognize someone. That was the feeling with Clara Obligado. That's why I believe in that feminine spirit; even if we don't have the power, we can build worlds between our work and our way of discovering what surrounds us. In all of this, literature is very important as the common thread of this group, of this network of women's connections, from the Brazilian Clarice Lispector to Clara Obligado. This morning I spoke with Hélène Cixous. It's her birthday; I called to say hello, and she's deeply shocked by everything that's happening in Paris (regarding the spread of the far right). That's also why we create a community of literature, art, and publishing: the internet rescues us.
–Your own biography combines elements that are seen as threatening in your country today: you grew up between Mexico, Africa, and the Middle East. You speak Spanish, you make art, and you were a university professor.
–I was born in Ohio, but my parents divorced when I was one year old, and I moved with my mom to Mexico. It was her reaction to the divorce. So, I grew up speaking Spanish, not English. Because of that, I feel very Latina inside.
Visual artist and editor Alexandra Grant during the launch of one of the books from the independent publishing house X Artists' Books, which she founded with her partner, Keanu Reeves, and designer Jessica Fleischmann. Photo: Facebook.
–This doesn't seem like a good time to feel very Latino in the United States. Considering that you're also a woman and an artist.
–Yes. We're supporting a lot of people who are on the margins. And that could lead to them coming to us one day. We're really thinking about how to move forward with all the projects, while also being somewhat cautious about what we do. I think the artistic life prepares you. There are a lot of people facing crises right now, but the artistic life confronts you with one crisis after another. And that's why it seems to me we're ready to confront the politics of Trump, or that gentleman you have in Argentina, or Vladimir Putin. One thing that really shocks me and that I don't understand is the support the tech sector is offering this new politics.
–For example, yesterday we had several images on Instagram: one of a woman with a bottle of wine, and the other of a bag with an illustration. I asked myself: can they really label us? That's tough! I don't know how we'll fight back, but in the meantime, I'm continuing to work with Polish writers Anna Adamowicz, Krystyna Dąbrowska, Julia Fiedorczuk, Bianka Rolando, Olga Tokarczuk, and Urszula Zajączkowska on the "Everything Belongs to the Cosmos" project. And I keep thinking about the importance of writing by hand, in cursive. Young people don't learn to write and can't read handwriting. Sometimes I laugh and tell myself, half jokingly, that the revolution will be formed with cursive messages and hand-drawn maps.
I think we're ready to confront the policies of Trump, or that man you have in Argentina, or Putin. None of them, nor what they do, will change the love I have for the people.
–In fact, words play a central role in your work. What connection is there between the languages you use, the cultures you grew up in, and your work?
Having a culture different from that of your parents or the place you live in always opens the door to a curiosity about the world. I also have an exceptional mother, who was my primary educator; she isn't afraid of the world. I remember that when she lived in Ghana, there was no other white person there, and she didn't even notice. Having a mother who has this faith in humanity has given me something, on a structural level. I'd say that from a young age, I discovered that there was a culture within every language, which could challenge my discomfort in every case, and this gave me a taste for experimentation. That's why we work a lot in Poland, a place that is both very cultured, so educated, and with such intelligent people. But there are times when I think: "We have nothing in common." Or in Korea, where I was recently talking about "Antigone 3000," until someone pointed out to me that they don't know the Greek myths there. I was surprised. "Alexander the Great didn't come here, he didn't cross the mountains," they explained to me. So, I thought about how ideas are contained within a language, but also by geography. Where are the borders, right? That's why I'm always interested in pursuing new ideas.
–What place did and do books occupy in your work as a visual artist?
–Behind me you can see a painting by Ronald B. Kitaj, a Jewish artist born in Ohio who also lived in the United Kingdom. When I was 18, after seeing his work at the Metropolitan Museum, I wrote him a letter. It was the first time I'd done so, and he responded. We corresponded for several years, and for me, he was always someone who painted ideas from literature but without using words in his works. He showed me how a painter can also be an intellectual. Before that, my mother told me she thought I was going to be a writer because I was a girl who wrote a lot, but when I got to college, I started studying math and realized I don't like to stay still. I like the movement involved in being an artist, and also the surprise, because being an artist is like being a cook without a recipe; you don't know what you're doing. I'm also fascinated by color and by occupying space with materials. There's a power to the artist, and that power has no words. The first work a museum bought of mine is titled "She's Taking the Space Up." I'm very tall, about 6'11", and I know this idea of being a woman who takes up space very literally, so I also like to practice it as an artist. It's very sad to see how women don't have the same opportunities in art as men. So, when there are days when I'm tired or don't want to do something, I think I can't afford to give up this career. I just had a conversation with Jeffrey Gibson, a very important Indigenous artist here in the United States, who began his career as an abstract painter, until he made a huge shift when he started using Indigenous materials, in addition to using words. That's taking up space, making your voice very clear.
Alexandra Grant attends the Hammer Museum's 19th Annual Gala at the Garden on May 4, 2024, in California. (Photo by Eckenroth/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA via AFP)
–Maybe your mother wasn't so wrong, because you're also a book author and editor. Why would an artist with a long career under her belt decide one day to jump into the difficult world of publishing?
–In 2017, I wrote a book called The Artists' Prison , which stemmed from an experience at a prison art school. I was looking for a publisher, and no one was interested, of course, because it was a very strange book. Until someone agreed to publish it… but in exchange for the rights to make a film. Then I thought: if it was an idea that worked for others, it could work for me too. And so I decided to start a publishing house and publish it myself. Then I saw that the designer who worked with me, Jessica Fleischmann, had a secret book she'd been creating for years with the playwright Sylvan Oswald, *High Winds *. Keanu Reeves, with whom I made the books *Ode to Happiness* and * Shadows *, was also developing a project by Benoît Fougeirol called *Zus* . And at the time, I was also impressed that a publishing house wanted to publish the catalog of an exhibition by the artist León Ferrari, but not his own book. Then I realized there was a gap in very important projects that didn't have an easy place in the world of books, and I started with four works.
–I didn't know anything about publishing books, and I'm a perfectionist. But, when it comes to publishing, I'm not afraid. I believe in improving people's writing and feeding clichés about the art world. I want to look at the world in a very fresh way, and I think I can take advantage of some of the gifts I have. One of them is editing.
I realized there was a gap in very important projects that didn't have an easy place in the world of books, and I started with four works.
–How do you get to Clara Obligado in particular?
Nicole brought her book , Todo lo que crece, from Páginas de Espuma, which has had several editions in Spain and Argentina. She's an intellectual, very wise, and recognized the value of Clara's work. Then, when I read it in Spanish, I had the feeling it was what I'd been searching for for about five years. That's why, in addition to publishing it, Clara gave me permission to use her book as material for a new series of my paintings. Her book explores ecopoetry, as important as a female political impulse toward a positive future. That had a big impact on me, because I also want to align myself with that positive vision.
–Are you interested in Latin American literature?
–For me, for example, Borges, Cortázar, and many other writers have been key to my understanding of how the world and time work. Having grown up in Mexico and always having Spanish-language books around, it's been part of my identity and my literary interest.
–How interested are you in what others think of you, a professional woman over 50?
–Well, I have white hair because I stopped dyeing it when I was 29. I'd dyed it blue, pink, black… I don't know how many other colors for years. It was horrible. So I let it go. Back then, when I was young and had gray hair, people told me I looked smarter. But now, as I've reached the age where gray is normal, it's been a bit of a shock.
Alexandra Grant, in a social media post.
I never imagined in my life that I would have so many views on my physical appearance, because I had tried, like any human being, to understand my own body. Now I think that from the age of 12 to 52, I was held captive by my hormones, by a chemistry that made me feel different things. Today, I'm no longer held hostage by my hormones. At this age, I'm reconnecting with the rebellion I felt as a child.
So, I see that this social media and phone habit makes people sick. I recognize that we have to look a certain way in public, and it's something I'm navigating. But I'm interested in not getting sick with the phone bug. I have a lot of strength within me that doesn't want to be imprisoned by social media. If all this is interesting to other women and helps them live more normal lives, I feel good. I also think I had to accept from a very young age, when I was already tall and had gray hair, that I was never going to be any other kind of person. So, this self-acceptance has perhaps made me more open to others, right?
–How do you make your world and these ideas coexist with the world of fame that surrounds Keanu Reeves?
–Well, we have a small, intimate life. We're very normal, a couple, I'd say, very simple. Like any couple in love who has their own world. Of course, his work is incredible: for more than 40 years, audiences have followed him and loved him. We're both lucky to be able to work telling stories in different ways. Plus, each of us greatly respects the other's work. That creates the freedom of being in a relationship, but being who you really are and feeling secure. It's a good balance.
- Born in Fairview Park, Ohio, in 1973, he is an artist who uses language and exchanges with writers as inspiration for his sculptures, paintings, drawings, and videos. Because of his parents' jobs, he lived in Africa and the Middle East.
- In 1994, Grant graduated from Swarthmore College with a bachelor's degree in art history and studio art. In 2000, she graduated from the University of California, San Francisco, College of the Arts, with a master's degree in drawing and painting.
Alexandra Grant. Photo: Piotr Jamski
- Her first solo museum exhibition was in 2007, organized by curator Alma Ruiz, at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles (MOCA). Grant is known as a "radical collaborator." The longest of her exchanges was with the writer and hypertext fiction pioneer Michael Joyce. Together they generated at least three series of works: the Ladder Quartet (exhibited at MOCA in 2007), Six Portals (exhibited at the Honor Fraser Gallery in 2008), and Bodies (exhibited at the Honor Fraser Gallery in 2010). In 2013, she collaborated on twin series of exhibitions with Hélène Cixous, French writer and philosopher.
- In 2015, Grant began exhibiting his current core of work, the painting “Antigone 3000,” inspired by the Greek myth.
Alexandra Grant attends the Hammer Museum's 19th Annual Gala at the Garden on May 4, 2024, in California. (Photo by Eckenroth/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA via AFP)
- From 2009 to 2011, she was an adjunct professor at the Art Center College of Design (Pasadena, California). In 2010, she taught an MFA seminar at Cal State Northridge, and from 2013 to 2014, she was a mentor in the Pacific Northwest College of Art's distance learning MFA program. In 2015, she mentored the MFA program at Syracuse University and co-led a course with Isabelle Lutterodt at Ashesi University in Accra, Ghana.
- In 2017, Grant and Keanu Reeves founded a small artists' book publishing company called X Artists' Books.
Clarin
