Alex Foxton presents his latest exhibition, “Knight of the Sorrowful Countenance,” at New York’s Salon 94 in partnership with Galerie Derouillon, opening September 10. The show features a new series of monumental canvases exploring modern masculinity, inspired by moments such as Volodymyr Zelensky’s suitless visit to the White House, British royalty, fascist armies, and prep school students. Foxton, trained in fashion design at Central Saint Martins and formerly at Louis Vuitton, Bottega Veneta, Maison Margiela, and Dior, employs a limited color palette drawn from military and 19th-century male dress norms, balancing desire and discipline. The exhibition includes works referencing figures like Yukio Mishima and bullfighter Manolete.
This exhibition matters because it confronts contemporary gender politics at a turbulent moment, using painting to dissect the fragility of the “strong male figure” and how posture, clothing, and cultural image shape authority. Foxton’s background in high-fashion design and his collaboration with Kim Jones—who collects his work—bridges the worlds of fashion and fine art, highlighting a growing dialogue between these fields. The show’s engagement with raw political imagery, such as the Zelensky-Trump encounter, positions Foxton’s work as a timely commentary on masculinity and power in the public sphere.