Oh hey there! My name is Alexander Gustafson, but my friends call me Zev. I’m a self-taught sculptor, illustrator, and curator residing in Ridgewood, Queens (originally from the Bay Area of California)
As an artist, I’m continually interested in bringing a little more beauty and contemplation to our often incomprehensible world. I’ve always felt that existence is inherently surreal, and capturing that has been at the heart of my creative and curatorial practice. My work has included art direction, murals, puppets, and dioramas, to name a few. I like to immerse myself in detailed pen-and-ink drawings, experiment with printmaking processes, and create sculptures out of reclaimed materials, but I am equally focused on hosting public workshops, initiating collaborative projects, and exhibiting work as accessibly as possible.
Recent Group Exhibitions
2024 ‘Fallow Frames’ PS122 Gallery, NYC (curated by Alexa Hoyer)
2023 ‘Arm’s Reach’ NYSS Dumbo, Brooklyn (curated by Paula Querido)
2023 ‘Why Do Nymphs Turn Into Trees?’ Spring/Break Art Fair, NYC (curated by Rebecca Bird)
2023 ‘Island Luminaria’ Flux House, NYC (curated by Sally Beauty)
2023 ‘Dream Alliance’ ChaShaMa, NYC (curated by Melinda Kiefer & Christopher Santiago)
2022 ‘Fruit Leak’ Spring/Break Art Fair, NYC (curated by Rebecca Bird)
2022 ‘Gathering Times’ 68 Jay Street, Brooklyn (curated by Sally Beauty)
2022 ‘Perevorot Illustrated’ International Fusionism, PA (curated by Ariel Kleinberg)
2021 ‘Grande MTL’ Mile End, Montréal (curated by Andrea Vargas Alonso)
2021 ‘Lamp Show’ Seven Belvedere, Brooklyn (curated by Sally Beauty)
Selected Curatorial Experience
2023 ‘Marathon to Oracle’ Tomato Mouse, Brooklyn
(show of contemporary Southwestern Painters)
2022 ‘Red Means Go’ Tomato Mouse, Brooklyn
(group show about ecology and mental health)
2021 ‘Art Island’ Grand-Morgan, Brooklyn
(show of pandemic-inspired art and performance)
Residencies
2023 USI Residency via Urban Soils Institute and Swale Lab Governor’s Island, NYC
2023 SPATS Theatre via Triangle L Ranch Oracle, Arizona
Bibliography
2023 Anthropology of Consciousness 34.1, Arlington, Virginia
2023 helm. ooii (cover image), Brooklyn, New York
2022 Al-Tiba9 ORIGINAL10, Algiers, Algeria