The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth has opened “Alex Da Corte, The Whale,” a solo exhibition dedicated to the painting practice of artist Alex Da Corte (b. 1980). Featuring more than forty paintings, the show highlights Da Corte’s lesser-known work in two dimensions, as he is more widely recognized for his installations and video pieces. The exhibition includes works such as *Siren (After E K Charter)* (2015) and *Electronic Renaissance* (2021), and places Da Corte’s paintings alongside those of Robert Mapplethorpe and Vija Celmins to explore themes of self-representation and perception.
The exhibition matters because it reframes Da Corte as a significant painter, not just a multimedia installation artist, and challenges the art market’s preference for easily recognizable styles. By presenting a diverse range of painting approaches—from conceptual riffs on Ellsworth Kelly to pop-culture-infused imagery—the show underscores Da Corte’s inventive breadth and conceptual depth. It also opens a dialogue with historical figures like Mapplethorpe and Celmins, positioning Da Corte within a broader meditation on artistic identity and the act of painting itself.