(This article, reprinted with permission, featuring Lindsey Alexander, class of 1967, and her nephew, Alex Haldi, class of 2002, appeared in Bexley News on December 5, 2007)   1/15/08

Art spans distance between aunt, nephew

Family members are sharing in each other’s success as exhibitions open miles apart.

By Sara Johnson
Suburban News Publications

Although they are separated by 500 miles, artist Alex Haldi and his aunt, Lindsey Alexander, who taught Haldi some of what he knows, are united as they open up their first exhibitions at the exact same time.

Alexander, 58, a former Bexley resident who has lived in German Village since 2000, has created nine works that will be featured at Bexley’s Art Access Gallery through December. A 2002 graduate of Bexley High School, Haldi is a 24-year-old working artist in Manhattan, N.Y., who is celebrating his first professional art show running through Jan. 10 in a bar on East 10th Street in Manhattan.

Knowing Haldi had a knack for art, Alexander took him under her wing while Haldi was a high school senior. She helped to show him the work of local artists and introduce him to many of the artist connections she had made, not only to give him connections for his college experience at Syracuse University, but to really open his eyes to the art around him, Alexander said.

“It was fun for me to talk with a young artist who is just starting out in the world and has his own ideas about art and about life. Every experience, no matter what side you are on, is a learning experience,” she said.

Haldi said he noticed that Columbus artists were less traditional, but he also saw his aunt’s work to be of beauty and emotion with an organic feeling.

“We just hung out and she showed me that art is more than Van Gogh or Picasso. The Columbus art scene opened up my eyes to a whole different world. I would like to keep the aesthetic value of artwork up to par that I learned in school, but I also like that organic feel to my work.”

Alexander’s art background includes work in stained glass, water color, oils, glass blowing, wood work and ceramics.

From 1979-99, Alexander held “Creative Collections” with artist, Marti Steffy, in her Bexley residence to showcase work of several artists, she said. After moving to German Village, she organized another home show in 2004, “Hearth,” where 12 artists , including Haldi, created home art installations that responded to spaces inside and outside of her house.

Alexander privately works in her home creating mosaic and ceramic art, but it was not until her former “Creative Collections” partner, Steffy, encouraged her that she pursued showing her work at Art Access Gallery.

She has created some pieces that are already on exhibit, but will have a total of nine pieces showing at Art Access Gallery, 540 S. Drexel Ave., through December. Her exhibit consists of small black and white organic-looking ceramic pots with words across the pots from writings of hers. Each piece sells for between $150 to $200.

“For me, I have never done this. I’ve never took it upon myself to go to a gallery and say, ‘here’s my work if you’re interested in showing it.’ I was doing it at my home and in my own ways,” Alexander said. “It’s a highly regarded gallery in Bexley and they (Art Access Gallery) were just so nice about the work that I’m doing and excited for me do it.”

Haldi’s first show includes 15-20 organic-looking art pieces all created on found objects in Manhattan, such as wood pieces. His exhibit, “Vices,” represents him staying up into the wee hours of the morning to work on his art, in which his art helps with the transition from the suburbs to the stressful daily grind of a city like Manhattan, he said.

“He (Haldi) is such a pure and true artist, who his entire life has had a pen in his hand and works non-stop,” Alexander said.

Haldi, a 2006 graduate of Syracuse University who holds a bachelor’s degree with an illustration major, works as a CD album cover designer for Island Def Jam Records in Manhattan, a job he started in March of this year. He has created an album cover for music artist Freeway Free at Last, and he is working on three other album covers.

“He’s a driven artist and I am so excited that he keeps finding ways to continue with it,” Alexander said. “A lot of artists are talented and go through dry spouts after graduating college and finding a real job, but his job at Island Records is really part of his love.”

“It’s amazing. I always wanted to do it. I just met as many people as I could in the industry, and kept pushing for an opportunity,” Haldi said. “I love it here. I’m having a great time. It’s a party but it’s a lot of work. It’s a perfect place for a man who never sleeps.”

For more information on Alexander’s exhibition at Art Access call the gallery at 614-338-8325.

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