Alex Garant - Optic Pop

About

Optic Pop is a new collection of paintings from ‘Queen of the Double Eyes’, Alex Garant . Opening reception: Saturday, March 28th, 5 – 8 pm. This is a free event. As Beinart Gallery is a licensed venue, any minors attending the opening reception will need to be accompanied by a responsible adult. This exhibition will run from March 29th – April 19th, 2026, and will coincide with Kristen Egan's Biota , Nicole Evans's Creeping Normality , and Sad Salesman's Plants! Inspired by retro pop imagery from the 60s and 70s, Garant’s primary influences for this collection were vintage movie posters and mid-century souvenir postcards. Triggering a sense of nostalgia, Garant says she ‘wanted the subject matter and the colour to be saturated with intent. Strong colours, strong figures.’ Garant’s signature double exposure style was born of a life-changing event, the heart attack she suffered at just 30 years old. That moment changed the trajectory of her life, catalysing her decision to pursue art as a career, and was the genesis of her superimposed, ‘mirage realism’ technique. Through this overlapping, at times dizzying visual language, Garant attempts to capture the sensation of being in two places at once, in space and in time, ‘reflecting the way the mind analyses memories and presence all at once’, says the artist. Each painting becomes a reflection of duality. A portrait representing both who you were and who you are becoming. Alex Garant is a Canadian artist and considered a pioneer of the figurative optic art movement. Described as 'Analogue Glitch Art', her style infuses traditional oil painting techniques with optical illusions, duplication, overlay and image superposition to dazzling and disorientating effect. With representation in galleries across Canada, the United States, and Australia, Garant's art has graced prestigious museums such as the Museum of Art and History (MOAH) in California, the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum in Arizona, and the Honolulu Museum of Art i