Alex Bierk

Alex Bierk is a self-taught artist who works primarily in oil and watercolor, combining a meticulous, time-intensive technique with a deeply personal vision. His paintings often begin with straightforward, unadorned photographs as references, which he deconstructs using a grid of quarter-inch squares. This deliberate process, juxtaposed with his themes of regional and personal significance, results in works that possess both an intricate intimacy and a quiet, contemplative power.

 

Bierk’s work transforms the familiar into meditations on resilience, longing, and the unseen forces that shape our lives. A pile of pills, light coming in through a window, a vintage car, or the highway are imbued with a sense of longing and transcendence, bridging the personal with the universal. These objects and scenes, rendered with unflinching realism, become symbols of resilience, vulnerability, and the enduring human spirit.

 

Through his art, Bierk also engages with themes that are deeply personal and urgent, such as addiction, recovery, homelessness, and the drug crisis. These subjects are treated with sincerity and authenticity, avoiding the sensationalism often found in media depictions. Instead, his work serves as a meditation on these issues, anchored by his connection to his community, his commitment to advocacy, and his own lived experience.

 

Bierk has received grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts and was awarded the prestigious Laura Ciruls Painting Award by the Ontario Arts Foundation in 2020. His work has been exhibited widely, including recent shows at the Art Gallery of Ontario (Toronto, ON) and Harper’s (East Hampton, NY). Bierk’s paintings are held in notable collections, including major banks, corporations, and private collectors across North America.