Alex Beard's ON CAMEL SAFARI Exhibition to Open This Month at George Billis Gallery

Alex Beard: On Camel Safari opens October 29th at New York's George Billis Gallery. The exhibition, which runs through November 6th and features 15 new drawings and paintings by the abstract wildlife painter, coincides with the release of the artist's first monograph, A Brush with Nature, being released by Glitterati this month.

Award-winning writer Nick Paumgarten, summarizes the work, "Beard's paintings and drawing convey wonder, inspire delight and, one hopes, enlist all of us in the monumental task of protecting this wilderness and its inhabitants, humans or otherwise, from our baser instincts and more diabolical schemes."

Beard spent six weeks last summer trekking the terrain on camel safari in Kenya from the Northern end of LEWA to Lekurruki along the Ngare Ndare River with the Mokogodo Masai, exploring the vast lands and wildlife, which face continual danger from human and environmental threats.

Drawing inspiration from the animals, landscape, and the colors around him, the centerpiece of the exhibition- and title of the show- is a rich and complex work that explores themes of cultural and environmental connectivity in which abstraction and figuration collide. "Part of my responsibility is to turn what I do into a campaign to raise awareness and money to help keep the integrity of the environment which I care so much about intact," says Beard. "It is paramount that I do what I can to save what I can." It is for this very reason that he is reinvesting proceeds from art and book sales into conservation efforts both locally and in Kenya.

EXHIBITION and BOOK RELEASE DETAILS
ALEX BEARD: ON CAMEL SAFARI
George Billis Gallery
525 West 26th Street, New York, NY 10011

Opening & Book Signing: Saturday, October 29, 7pm - 10pm
Exhibition: Sunday, October 30 and Monday, October 31 by appointment;
Tuesday, November 1 - Sunday, November 6, 10am - 6pm

American painter and author Alex Beard is best known for his elaborate wildlife compositions created in his signature style of gestural painting, which he calls "Abstract Naturalism." His travels and exposure to the diverse cultures, colors, and climates of Africa, India, China, the Americas, and Australia have had a profound impact on both his professional and artistic practice.

Inspired by the grass root politics of his father Sam Beard, who - together with Jackie Kennedy Onassis and U.S. Senator Robert Taft, Jr.- founded the Jefferson Awards for Public Service, and by his uncle the highly acclaimed wildlife photographer Peter Beard, who first exposed him to Kenya and its majestic wildlife, Beard established The Watering Hole Foundation, a public charity engaged in saving endangered wildlife and preserving their environments.

The artists' documentary, Drawing the Line, chronicles the plight of the endangered Wild African Elephant and fuses his artistic talent with his dedication to preservation. In addition to producing a series of short films, he has authored and illustrated a critically acclaimed trilogy of storybooks published by Abrams: Tales from the Watering Hole, includes "The Jungle Grapevine" (2008), "Monkey See Monkey Draw" (2009), and "Crocodile Tears" (2010).

Beard lives and works in New Orleans and his work figures prominently in several private and public collections around the globe. He has exhibited extensively throughout the United States, including solo exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and also abroad in Hong Kong.