Forêt Intérieure / Interior Forest were a pair of exhibitions that took place at 18th Street Arts Center in Santa Monica, CA and Mains d’Œuvres in Saint-Ouen, France in 2013. Structured as a residency and exhibition at each venue, Forêt Intérieure / Interior Forest extended noted Los Angeles-based artist Alexandra Grant’s studio practice into the arena of public engagement. The presentations included public drawing sessions to translate Hélène Cixous' novel “Philippines” into a large-scale work in each gallery via reading groups, artist collaborations, lectures, and performances. The twin exhibitions were curated by Pilar Tompkins Rivas, Isabelle Le Normand, and Ann Stouvenel. This lively catalogue documenting both projects includes essays by Alexandra Grant, Robert Nashak, Pilar Tompkins Rivas, a public conversation with Alexandra Grant and Hélène Cixous, and a letter from Hélène Cixous. Alexandra Grant is a Los Angeles-based artist who through an exploration of the use of text and language in various media—painting, drawing, sculpture, film, and photography—probes ideas of translation, identity, dis/location, and social responsibility. Grant frequently collaborates with other artists, writers, and philosophers, often going so far as to have specific texts written as the impetus to her intricate paintings and sculptures. She has collaborated with author Michael Joyce, actor Keanu Reeves, artist Channing Hansen, and the philosopher Hélène Cixous, amongst others.
