LA Art Prodigy Alexandra Nechita Continues Breaking Barriers
BEVERLY HILLS (CBSLA) – Alexandra Nechita waited patiently during the pandemic, to unveil her public art piece here in Los Angeles.
Nechita's stylized, beautiful bronze sculpture titled "Love Anatomy" was just unveiled at North Burton Way and Rexford Drive in Beverly Hills.
"I hope that anybody who takes the time to look out their window, snap a picture, not while you're driving," Nechita told CBS2 News This Morning's Suzanne Marques. "Feels better after looking at her."
Nechita exploded to fame when she was just a child. Her art was compared to the likes of Picasso. Now she's grown up and continuing to break barriers. Her work is exhibited in museums around the globe, despite the fact that women make up just a fraction of the artists on display.
The feel good message is a signature of her work. Her art is hopeful, infused with the spirit of peace, like the dove in the center of "Love Anatomy."
It's like her life, filled with promise. She immigrated to the U.S. from Romania when she was two. By the age of 10 she had an international publishing contract, with paintings selling for six figures.
"I never even knew about Picasso, I didn't know who Picasso was," she said in a 1996 interview. "I was just enjoying myself and I just started painting this way because I wanted to be different," Nechita said.
Nechita studied fine art at UCLA. Her work is now showcased in museums in the U.S. and around the world.
A recent study looking at the past decade revealed that only 11% of museum acquisitions in the U.S. are works by women.
"I'm still here and that's all I have to say," Nechita said. "It's interesting because when you grow up in the limelight from a young age, there's this constant sort of cloud of doubt and doom that people tend to place on you."
Not that it would keep her down. She even broke barriers on this project, in the city she calls home.
"She's the only artist in the city that's an actual resident, and she's from Romania, and she's female," said Deborah Frank with the Beverly Hills Arts and Culture Commission.
Instead of trying to fit in with the men, Nechita's art embraces femininity and celebrates women, from a woman's point of view.
"I've always used the power of the woman in my work, because I think that we are just straight up badasses. And it was important for me to use an image that I think really encompasses all of that. Giving a little love goes a long way."
Alexandra also created art for the Grammy Awards in 1997, when she was just 11. Check it out below: