British Vogue - 04.2020

Grant’s

2019 work

“Love,

Love, Love

(Blue)” lies

on the

studio floor

T

he first thing Alexandra

Grant tells me, on the phone

from Los Angeles, is that it’s

morning and she’s still under

a blanket. But don’t be fooled: there is

nothing snoozy about Grant. In fact,

the American artist, known for her

innovative blend of images and text,

is a tornado of energy. Later today she’s

off to the Orange County Museum

of Art in Santa Ana to prepare an

exhibition, and tomorrow she has a

meeting at Oscar de la Renta for

an upcoming project. Then, in April,

there’s another show, at the prestigious

Marfa Invitational in Texas, plus the

day-to-day running of X Artists’ Books

• the publishing house she runs with
  actor Keanu Reeves.
  Oh, yes. Keanu. If you know Grant’s
  name already, chances are it’s because,
  at the beginning of November last year,
  the world finally twigged that he and
  Alexandra were an item – when they
  walked the red carpet of an LA art gala
  hand-in-hand. Looking back on the
  hullabaloo, Grant offers a mix of earnest
  enthusiasm and deadpan wit. “I think
  every single person I knew called me in
  the first week of November, and that’s
  fascinating,” she says wryly. “But the
  question I’ve been asking in all of this
  is: ‘What is the opportunity for good?’”

Depending on which news outlet you

read, the reaction to Grant and Reeves’s

public appearance stood somewhere

between breathlessness and scorn.

Who was this woman who, at 46, had

the temerity to be nearly the same age

as Keanu? (He’s 55.) But can we allow

ourselves a moment of indiscreet concern?

After all, Reeves seemed perennially

single, inspired “Sad Keanu” memes and

gained the nickname “The Internet’s

Boyfriend”. If you’re thinking it would

take someone out of the ordinary to

shatter this image, you’d be right. “I’m

a 6ft 1in woman with white hair,” says

Grant brightly. “You know, the idea of

fitting in... If I wanted to look like Kim

Kardashian, I would have to have surgery

removing about a foot off my legs.”

The pair had been close for years, as

part of the same artistic set in LA, where

Grant has lived for two decades. She

had long established her reputation – a

prolific collaborator, she’s also worked

with famed feminist Hélène Cixous and

digital literature pioneer Michael Joyce. >

PICTURE THIS

The internet is abuzz with talk of Alexandra Grant’s

relationship with Keanu Reeves. Now, the artist gives

her perspective – on art, LA and love. By Louis Wise.

Photographs by Max Farago. Styling by Julia Ehrlich

“I think ‘artist’ best

describes what I do, but

really it’s a name for a

kind of curiosity”

Alexandra Grant in her LA

studio. She wears viscose

dress, £795, Stella McCartney.

Gold and pavé-diamond

bracelets, worn as necklace,

from £11,200 each, Pomellato.

Other jewellery, Alexandra’s

own. Hair: Ramsell Martinez.

Make-up: Kristina Brown

A R TS & C U LT U R E

DIGITAL ARTWORK: KELSEY HALE. WITH THANKS TO THE LONDON WEST HOLLYWOOD

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