Alex Gardner, a Long Beach based artist, creates figurative works that recognize a universal sense of humanity. Emotion and spirit are captured through body language and movement, with each subject rendered in a collective uniformity devoid of the individual features commonly used to signify identity.

In Personal Trainer, a figure in full sprint is held by the ankle. A vision of the hard times in life as a type of resistance training, Alex invites you to “push through life, keeping your legs strong and your core tight.” Seen from the busway, his figure reflects DALeast’s cheetah; the respective subjects, rendered in inverted color schemes, sprint in opposite directions.