A Tiger in a Tropical Storm: A Homage to Rousseau & the Wild

Escapism, Nature & The Dream-Like Realm

Louise Alexander Gallery presents A Tiger in a Tropical Storm, a summer group exhibition paying tribute to Henri Rousseau’s iconic painting and the untamed landscapes of Sardinia. Through the works of over a dozen established and emerging artists, the exhibition explores themes of isolation, fantasy, and the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature.

Rousseau’s Imagined Jungle: A Portal to Fantasy

In Tiger in a Tropical Storm, the viewer stumbles upon a tense and dreamlike scene, a crouching tiger caught in the throes of a violent monsoon, its gleaming teeth bared in the lush, wind-torn jungle. Rousseau, a self-taught artist who never left Paris, conjured this exotic world using taxidermied animals and botanical specimens from the Jardin des Plantes. His work transported La Belle Époque Parisian viewers from their urban reality into a realm of figurative enchantment and imagined adventure.

Escaping Isolation: A Parallel to Our Times

In today’s world, shaped by social isolation, travel restrictions, and the monotony of confinement, we too seek solace in nature and imagination. The fantasies of escapism, whether through art, digital realms, or dreams, offer a release from banal reality into realms of excitement, adventure, and emotional refuge.

Sardinia: A Living Landscape of Wild Reverie

For 14 years, Louise Alexander Gallery has been rooted in Sardinia, a place where rugged, uninhabited expanses and mistral winds evoke a sense of whimsical disorientation, not unlike Rousseau’s imagined jungle. This untamed environment, paradoxically freed by human absence, mirrors the themes of mystery and nature’s resurgence explored in the exhibition.

A Curated Exploration of Fantasy & Nature

Bringing together a diverse group of painters, sculptors, and multimedia artists, A Tiger in a Tropical Storm intertwines brilliant colors, organic forms, and surreal compositions. The works reflect on themes of:

Wild landscapes and our evolving relationship with nature

Isolation and dream realms as sources of introspection

Illusion, fantasy, and the blurring of reality

Featured Artists

Exhibition Dates: July 1 – September 2, 2021

Location: Louise Alexander Gallery, Porto Cervo, Sardinia

Participating Artists:

Saelia Aparicio (London)

Amy Bessone (Los Angeles)

Peter Böhnisch (Berlin)

Martyn Cross (Bristol)

Folkert de Jong (Amsterdam)

Pierre Fichefeux (Hawaii)

Sky Glabush (Canada)

Uwe Henneken (Berlin)

Mary Herbert (London)

Max Jansons (Los Angeles)

:mentalKLINIK (Istanbul, Brussels)

Enrique Martinez Celaya (Los Angeles)

Prisca Munkeni Monnier (Marseille)

Ryan Mosley (London)

JP Munro (Los Angeles)

Laurie Nye (Los Angeles)

Djordje Ozbolt (Belgrade/London)

Stefan Rinck (Berlin)

Sophie Vallance Cantor (Glasgow)

Sophie Varin (Brussels)

Vuk Vidor (Belgrade)

Jie Wu (London)