Alex Kalil
b. 1991 · lives and works in Boston, MA
Using hand-me-down fabrics sourced from friends and loved ones, the most basic sewing kit, and dental floss for thread, I hand-make quilts that move between pure abstraction and painterly representation — at once paintings, messages, political reactions, shamanic assemblages, and blankets to be wrapped up in and lived in.
Photographs: Lauren Galluzzi · Gary Samson · TylerAnn Mack
Portfolios
Solo Exhibitions
Illuminations: Tapestry of Sorrow & of Joy — First Church Boston, Boston, MA
The Whitney Biennial — Vernon Street Studios, Somerville, MA
Selected Group Exhibitions
Painting the Island (with Kathryn Blommel) — Slough Farm, Edgartown, MA
Unconventional Quiltmaking (with Larry Clifford) — Munroe Gallery, Concord Free Public Library, Concord, MA
Solsticefest Teahouse — The Big Red House, Arlington, MA
The Threads That Tie Us, curated by Regina Parkinson — Arts Collaborative Medford, Medford, MA
Carrying the Light Forward, curated by Amira Sheikh — Minara, Cambridge, MA
PITH (performance), curated by Juliet Paramor — The Cube, Somerville, MA
Yûská: Uncoil, curated by Erin Genia — Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA
Quilted Tapestries — Spirit House, Medford, MA
No Call / No Show, curated by Andy Li — Boston Distillery Gallery, Dorchester, MA
Hard Times Emporium, curated by Mike Curtis — Reuniun, Somerville, MA
Art in Print: Series 19, curated by Anna Doctor / Isenberg Projects — Zone 3, Allston, MA
Throwing a dart at the wall and drawing the target around it, curated by Michael Rose — 28 Varick Avenue, New York, NY
*FLASH*, curated by the artist — Vernon Street Studios, Somerville, MA
Mixed Messages, curated by the artist — Vernon Street Studios, Somerville, MA
sure as a fish in the sky; bird in the sea, curated by Kehayr Ransaw-Brown — Fresh Eye Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
ABSTRACTION: A Juried Exhibit — Cotuit Center for the Arts, Cotuit, MA
Sanctuary, curated by Maria Molteni — Gallery 263, Cambridge, MA
Altarations: A Selection of Shrines, curated by Emma Leavitt and Sophia Giordano — Dorchester Art Project, Dorchester, MA
Cosmic Salad, curated by Maryann Thompson — Russel Street, Cambridge, MA
Trash Bash (winner) — Aeronaut Brewing Co., Somerville, MA
The Demolition Show, curated by Maryann Thompson — The New House, Cambridge, MA
Residencies
Slough Farm — Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, MA
Chappaquiddick Island Artist’s Retreat — Chappaquiddick, MA
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts — Deer Isle, ME
Arrowmont Pentaculum, Fibers Cohort — Gatlinburg, TN
San Francisco Zen Center — Carmel Valley / San Francisco, CA
Collections & Grants
Massachusetts Cultural Council, Individual Artist Grant
Slough Farm Foundation, Edgartown, MA
Private collections in Massachusetts, New York, and Minneapolis
Curated Projects
Paintings and Drawings from the ‘Primordial Soup’ series — First Church Boston, Boston, MA
Fragility Promise and Potential — First Church Boston, Boston, MA
Em’s Gems (mixtape) — Arlington, MA
*FLASH* — Vernon Street Studios, Somerville, MA
Mixed Messages — Vernon Street Studios, Somerville, MA
Lights Film Fest (with Lily Jen) — Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Education
BFA, Film / Animation / Video — Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Seth MacFarlane Scholar · David Rosenberg Memorial Scholarship for Visionary Artists
Mailing List
New work is offered to the mailing list first — join to see each collection before it’s released.
Enquiries
For available work and prices, or to arrange a studio visit, please get in touch.