Photos & Video: Brian Stokes Mitchell, Julia Lester & More On Display in The Fifth Avenue Portrait Collection by Alexa Meade

The Fifth Avenue Portrait Collection, a massive public art exhibit by artist Alexa Meade, spanning 180 feet long, is now on display in the heart of New York City on Fifth Avenue and 44th Street.

Check out photos below!
 
All 22 works of art in The Fifth Avenue Portrait Collection are by Alexa Meade, who paints directly on the faces and clothes of live models, creating the illusion that real humans are two-dimensional paintings on canvas. The colorful living portraits are larger that life, with many of them over 12' tall.
 
The art is being exhibited on the outside of the building of the former Wonderland Dreams immersive exhibition. Every inch of the 26,000 square foot space was painted from floor to ceiling, using Alexa Meade's signature style of art which lets you step inside of a painting. It took over 1,000 gallons of paint to transform the space, which was a former Best Buy. Over 100,000 people came to see the Wonderland Dreams exhibition during its year-long run.
 
Alexa Meade said, "Walking into an art gallery is intimidating for a lot of people, so I am bringing my art outside for people to be able to appreciate while walking down the street. Art is for everyone, and not just those who feel comfortable in galleries and museums."
 
The photography in the collection was primarily captured by either Ruby June or Mike Monaghan.
 
The live models Alexa Meade painted include such high-profile New Yorkers as Tony Award-winning actor Brian Stokes Mitchell, Grammy Award-winning singer Walter Russell III, and Emmy Award-winning journalist Paul Wontorek. Additional Broadway actors painted in the collection include Nadia Brown, Julia Lester, Gus Birney, Jonalyn Saxer, and Matthew Sims Jr.
 
Alexa Meade painted numerous creative powerhouses for the series, including magician Zach King, writer Amber Ruffin, costume designer Emilio Sosa, producer Eva Price, dancer Melissa Becraft, and composer Helen Park. The models also include Ruby June, Richie Ridge, Keith Hurd, Adrian Richardson, and Shelli Lether.
 
The Fifth Avenue Portrait Collection is located at 529 5th Avenue steps away from Grand Central Station, Bryant Park, and the Museum of Modern Art.

Photo credit: Mike Monaghan