Alex Bispham

Alex Bispham is a PhD Student and Associate Lecturer at The Courtauld Institute of Art, researching queerness and alternative spirituality in contemporary art through material and historiographical frameworks.

His educational background includes:

• 2024-present: PhD student, Courtauld Institute of Art
• 2022-2023: MA History of Art, Courtauld Institute of Art – Special Option: Painters at Work, 1945-now
• 2018-2022: MA (Cantab) Modern and Medieval Languages (French & Italian), University of Cambridge

His research queers material practices by examining artists with alternative spiritual legacies, beginning with Hilma af Klint's The Paintings for the Temple (1906-1915). He argues that marginalized histories subvert heteropatriarchal norms and the hylomorphic model of creation, demonstrating the entanglement of spiritual transcendence and physical material change. Key interests include technical art history, modern/contemporary painting, and occult spirituality.

Bispham's teaching includes serving as Teaching Assistant for Physical Histories (Autumn 2024) and future roles as Associate Lecturer for Reality and Fantasy in French Art, 1863–97 (Autumn 2025) and Teaching Assistant for Courtauld Summer University courses Art and Identity (online) and Discover Art History (in-person) in Summer 2025.