Alise Loebelsohn

Location:  215 17 St, parlor floor (between 4th & 5th Avenues)
Website:  aliseloebelsohn.com
 

My painting career has emerged from a desire to transform surfaces into a new reality. My work is about the patterns and images that randomly appear in nature, like memories that can fade but then come to the surface if something sparks a memory. I am interested in those murky areas where there are no clear truths. It is here where I try to imagine the laws of imaginary worlds and how I can make sense of the universe in which we live. I am very sensitive to how materials can be used to create pattern in new and undiscovered ways. I wish to use the two dimensional space as a way of breaking through the boundaries of time, space, perception and dimension. My paintings emerge out of the process of materials that I use. I begin the paintings by layering the surface with many layers of plaster, oil paint and resin. I wish for the colors to reflect a luminosity by being using a variety of materials. The viewer can then fill in through their own life experiences. By layering and compressing the material, the surface builds a polished shine. The force of the compression of layers reveals a cross section of materials, as the layers in earth through the passage of time. Line and color are very important to me. I want the line to flow. The line should separate the spaces and eventually create a shape. I then think about how the color will relate to the line and the overall composition My goal is to have harmony within the surface. Each series starts with an idea. I grew up near the beach and have always felt connection to the sea. I want to capture the feel of the sea. In a recent series I used the parachute jump in Coney Island to create abstract fragments of my life growing up there. I want the viewer to be taken into the space, whether it be real or imaginary, and follow the very detailed patterns to find their own inner space. There are forms you can see through. There is a feeling that you can go beneath the surface and something is there.