About
Alex Grahe works in Providence, RI, but was born in Illinois and grew up in Tacoma, Washington. They graduated with a Bachelor's in Biology from York College of Pennsylvania in York, PA and spent one summer as a Wilderness Ranger Steward in the Nez-Perce National Forest. After the Wilderness Ranger Fellowship, Alex returned to Pennsylvania and worked for over a year as a Scientist at Eurofins. They moved to Providence and worked as a NEFOP Fisheries Observer before transitioning to tree care with Bartlett Tree Experts. They are now learning how to climb trees and perform plant health care, but their art is still heavily influenced by the year they spent getting deployed on commercial fishing vessels throughout New England.
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Alex is also a musician and has played French Horn in classical ensembles for 12 years. They play guitar and drums and produce music in their studio.
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Alex has had work exhibited in:
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2026 South County Art Association Paint, Print, and Drawing Show (3rd Place for Sakonnet River Bridge print), Kingston, RI.
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2026 South County Art Association All Media Juried Show, Kingston, RI.
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2025 SCAA Holiday Art Sale, Kingston, RI.
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Tellus360 in Lancaster, PA.
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West End Market in Lancaster, PA.
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STEAM gallery at the North Museum of Nature and Science in Lancaster, PA.
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Engendered exhibition at Marketview Arts in York, PA.
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2021 Juried Show at York College of Pennsylvania (1st place in Fine Art Category).ā
Artist Statement
I was a biology major because I’m fascinated by the tenuous balance between life and death. I use representational drawings of figures or landscapes to investigate relationships between living beings and their environment, and my work is a product of my exploration of the interface between art and science. My goal is to inhabit the chaos between them and increase the entropy of our system, inspiring others to see beauty, to question our built reality, and to create new ways of being.
My first love was a sketchbook, but I enjoy printmaking with wood or linoleum, drawing with pastels, or painting with oils. My aim is to document what I find disturbing and magnificent about the interconnectedness of being. Scenes of life are a study of ligaments, of ecology, of cellular conversations; scenes of death are a reminder of our shared mortality.
At the interface of art and science, they become much one and the same. They are fish in the same aquarium, viewed from different windows. The fluidity of every boundary is exalted by documenting the complexity of our world. As I consider the drastic changes which will be necessary to avert climate disaster, communication between art and science will be essential in the creation of new habits. To see my work is to witness with wonder what was unwittingly accepted, to ask questions about what is important, and to be.
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