American representational painter Ellen Altfest paints directly from observation, often working on a single painting over the course of months or years. In meticulously rendering the surface qualities of objects that she feels have been overlooked in art and life—from the rough textures of rocks and tree bark to expanses of men’s skin and hair—her close looking and technical virtuosity yield a near hallucinatory clarity. But her images are also products of invention, as evidenced by curious cropping, juxtapositions of subject matter, and art historical allusions.
Featuring approximately 20 oil paintings created over the last two decades, Forever is inspired by Emily Dickinson’s line “Forever – is composed of Nows,” an encouragement to live mindfully in the present. By connecting nature and the human figure, Altfest generates a distilled poetry in which each is suggestive of the other. In the spirit of Dickinson’s warm and lucid verse, she is a witness to the ever-overlooked.
Organized by the Frist Art Museum
Ellen Altfest. Gourds, 2006–07. Oil on canvas; 19 x 38 in. © Ellen Altfest. Photo © Bill Orcutt, New York. Courtesy White Cube
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