John Alexander Didn't Leave Early Enough, But Still Finds his Place in Art World

Houston Chronicle: Alexander, once a bad boy of Houston's art world, returns, 2008-Apr-11, by Lisa Gray: Almost always, reviews and introductions describe Alexander as a "Texas" artist — never mind that it's been almost 30 years since he left Houston for New York. Besides keeping a studio in Soho, he owns a place in the Hamptons. ...  Alexander points to the storefront where Janie C. Lee's gallery used to be. It was a great gallery, he says, one of the first to show national-caliber art in Houston. He felt lucky to have his works there. What non-Texans did she show? I ask. He reels off names: Helen Frankenthaler, Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Rauschenberg ... Rauschenberg? I say. He's from Texas. Yes, says Alexander. But he left early. He doesn't count. ... [His MFAH retrospective] show was coming together, and his cell phone was full of messages from old friends and collectors anxious to buy new work. Alexander seemed surer of himself than he had before, less worried about ... his place in art history.