Alexis Macnab (ey/em/eir)
Artist - Curator - Writer
Hello! I am a mixed media artist using ey/em/eir pronouns (they/them is also fine) living in the Santa Cruz Mountains falling in love every day with line, color, and my local landscape. I’m so glad you’re here!
I create highly detailed mixed-media artworks that function as portals into richly imagined, evolving worlds. Working with ink, watercolor, acrylic, and pencil, I construct tactile surfaces through patient, accumulative mark-making. My imagery frequently portrays figures intertwining with botanical, animal, and mythic elements, exploring metamorphosis, liminal identity, and the porous boundaries between body, landscape, and spirit.
I approach art-making as both meditation and world-building. Through meticulous surface development, I seek to dissolve fixed distinctions between human and nonhuman forms, inviting viewers into spaces of transition and shared identity. I aim for each piece to evoke the sensation of crossing a threshold—like stepping into a hidden realm—where viewers may encounter personal emotional and symbolic truths.
My artistic practice is shaped by my background in immersive and site-specific performance, which continues to influence my engagement with narrative, environment, and audience experience. I am currently focused on visual art and writing, including the development of an illustrated collection of folktales and fables.
Select Exhibitions - Visual Art & Curating
Artist, First Friday Art Tour, Heart & Mind Special Exhibition, Santa Cruz (2026)
Artist, Santa Cruz Art League, SCC Open Studios Preview Exhibit, Santa Cruz, CA (2025)
Artist, Minnow Arts, Special Smudge Prints & Zines Show, Santa Cruz, CA (2024)
Artist, Santa Cruz County Arts Council Open Studios, Felton, CA (2025, 2024, 2023)
Artist, Pop-Up Gallery at IOOF Mountain View, Mountain View, CA (2023)
Curator, themed multimedia group show “Imaginary Real”, Automata Arts, Los Angeles, CA (2017)
Artist, “SLEEPLESS @ The Music Center”, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, CA (2016)
Curator, themed multimedia group show “Light in the Dark”, Automata Arts, Los Angeles, CA (2015)
Curator, themed multimedia group show “HORSE”, Automata Arts, Los Angeles, CA (2014)