Alex Grimmer.
Contemporary artist · Dallas, Texas
I make art from the records I grew up listening to.
Every work I create starts with real vinyl — sometimes a personal collection, sometimes an archive, sometimes records sent in by collectors who want their music made permanent. I cut each record by hand, in my studio in Dallas, and I'm the only person who touches them from the first incision to the final signature.
A finished work contains the records you can name. It's signed, dated, and built to last for generations. It is, by definition, the only one of its kind.
Practice
Grimmer began carving records in 2017 and has since produced commissioned and exhibited works for private collectors, showrooms, and music-industry partners including the RIAA. He works exclusively by hand, in series of one, from his studio in Dallas. Every work he completes is signed, dated, and accompanied by a certificate of authenticity documenting the specific records used.
Subject and material
The records that go into each artwork are chosen deliberately: by artist, by pressing, often by the personal archive of the collector commissioning the work. The medium is the message — the vinyl itself, the music it once held, and the act of cutting it into permanent form.
Studio
Dallas, Texas. Studio visits by appointment.
Selected commissions & installations
- The Grammys Music Cares Silent Auction
- RIAA Commission, 60 × 60 in., 2020
- Walt Grace Vintage Showroom, Wynwood, Miami
- CEO of Gibson Guitars
- Kendra Scott
- Imax
- Epidemic Music
- Warner Music