ALEXANDER COSTER SCOTT

Strong ties to Pop, Op, psychedelia, and '60s and '70s graphic design... Scott’s work merges painting and design into structured systems of repetition and abstraction.

ARTFORUM — Julie Caniglia

For this commission, Boston-based photographer Alexander Coster Scott captured views from the top of One Dalton Street, annotating each image with compass direction, time, and technical detail.

Four Seasons Press Release — One Dalton Street

The art lover's journey in Boston begins at Four Seasons Hotel One Dalton Street... works include Alex Katz, Louise Nevelson, Terry Winters, Alexander Coster Scott, and James Stroud.

Four Seasons Press Release — Boston, USA

Monocle describes Scott’s photography as rigorous and poetic, where architecture becomes a study in light and atmosphere.

Monocle Magazine

Scott celebrates the “Rebirth of Cool,” merging modernist optimism with technological and synthetic visual language.

ICA Boston / Tate Modern — Christoph Grunenberg

Scott goes back to the future in his work, or maybe forward to the past.

The Boston Globe — Cate McQuaid

What seems like rave culture references is actually grounded in art history, producing a sense of the unknown.

Newsweekly — Matthew Murphy

Scott dissolves boundaries between art and design, creating ambient visual environments rather than fixed pictorial objects.

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Paul Dietrich Gallery: A Conversation with Coster Scott

“The moment just before recognition holds a lot of energy and potential. My work often blurs the boundaries between disciplines and genres, and in some way my work might raise some questions. With a lot of art—cinema and music included—it’s not necessarily about gaining some special knowledge; rather, it’s more about sustaining a sense of wonderment.”

— excerpt from interview with Alexander Coster Scott

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I was born 1965 in Washington, DC, and have lived in Massachusetts since 1980. In my teens, I decided to become an artist and began selling directly to old New York families and eventually through James Andrew, an interior designer who worked for Albert Hadley. After well-received shows of my painted work at the Institute of Contemporary Art in 1999 and a one-man show in Sweden soon after, I transitioned more exclusively to large-scale photography. My work over the last 24 years has seen quite a few patrons – notably Tyler Brûlé, who promoted my work in his publications. HP Hood/Catamount Management Corporation is also a standout. My recent photographs also fill Four Seasons One Dalton, a CambridgeSeven partnership project. The works were commissioned through art advisor Kate Chertavian with the support of Richard Friedman (Carpenter & Co.) and the late Henry Cobb.

What type of artist do you consider yourself to be?

I don’t identify with any particular type of artist. My work often blurs the boundaries between disciplines and genres, making it hard to categorize.

Are you formally trained as an artist?

I have a BA in art history from Boston University, where I studied under Hellmut Wohl. I took art courses in Florence and Rome, studied in France, and at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. I also studied Buddhist perception at the Sakya Institute. My most useful education came from exchanges with William Eggleston, William Christenberry, and Claude Saucy.

Is there an exhibition or image you remember first responding to?

Growing up in DC in the 60s and 70s, I was exposed to Calder and Rothko early. In the late 80s, William Eggleston and his son gave us The Democratic Forest, which became a foundational object for me.

If you could go back ten years, what advice would you give yourself?

One has to find one’s way in the now, however perfectly imperfect.

Tell us about your creative process.

For many creative people there is no separation between life and process. In commissioned situations I often create parallel bodies of work—one for myself and one for the client. Clients often resonate most with the personal work.

Has your style changed over the years?

My style is constantly in flux. The temptation is to become recognisable, but for me style is an expression of content and therefore always shifting.

@alexandercosterscott