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The June Kelly Gallery takes great pleasure in
presenting Perspectives, an exhibition by Mark Alsterlind, an artist
whose work Kelly first showed in 1989 and with whom she had
subsequent shows through 2003. Curious
abstract improvisations of color, texture, and imaginative
colocation of form reflect the artist’s enthrallment with
imagination and the sensory elements of the natural world.
The exhibition will open at 166
Mercer Street on Friday, November 14, and continue until Tuesday,
January 6, 2026.
Alsterlind writes about himself and this
exhibition: a young painter moves beyond pure imagination when he
begins to apply perspective's logic to his work.
After many years of painting, hopefully, imagination
will again become the main source of the creative process.
All the paintings capturing the
daily journey in the studio will give new meaning to « perspectives
».
My show will showcase my explorations on paper
and canvas, going back to my first exhibit with June Kelly.
The result is a partial overview of
the different ways I have viewed our world over the past 36 years.
This exhibition will tell the story
of all those efforts to look more deeply, and it is this that has
kept me smiling and optimistic through thick and thin.
Most of the works have not been previously
exhibited. I will add some recent
paintings and drawings that I will bring from France.
I have asked my son, Mathias
Alsterlind, and David Quadrini, thank you for helping me tell my
story.
After working in the Grotte de Lascaux,
Alsterlind moved to Provence, where he established a spacious studio
and grounds in Manosque. His
artistic practice is deeply Intertwined
with Nature, which he says is “an integral part of my work.”
Alsterlind states he needs space and must maintain his
freedom. He often works on 50 to 60
paintings simultaneously, leaving his canvases outdoors for long
periods.
“I like being outdoors. And
I want to work on works that express the passage of time, so I leave
certain canvases outside, get back to them regularly, and let nature
leave its mark; the rain, the light, the vegetation or the air all
leave something on the canvases. Some
have been there for several months, some for years.”
Alsterlind may work patiently on a
painting for as long as five years or more.
“So, the painting tells us something about what it’s
been through.”
Alsterlind’s paintings do not rely on
traditional Western art conventions; his sense of freedom allows him
to continue creating mesmerizing color paintings that let
environmental and ecological factors influence their structure,
shaping the evolution of his work. He
redefines the laws of gravity to distort perspective while staying
rooted in the paint's abstract qualities—vivid hues, rich textures,
and natural elements.
Alsterlind, born in San Francisco, lives and
works in Paris and Manosque. He received his Master’s degree in Fine
Art from the University of Vauban in Nîmes, France, a BFA from the
California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, and a BA from the
University of Santa Clara, CA. His
work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions across
France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, as well as in New York and
California. He is included in many
public and private collections, such as the Bibliothèque Nationale
de France; the Modena Museum in Italy; Saint Gobain Industries;
Société Générale in Paris; Dresdner Bank in Germany; and the
American Telephone & Telegraph Company in New York.
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