BLOUIN Gallery Guide
Blouin GALLERY GUIDE
APRIL 2016
ALYSSA MONKS on view at Forum Gallery, New York, NY
blouinARTINFO.COM
APRIL 2016
The monthly guide to leading galleries and museums
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Gallery Guide
ON THE COVER
ALYSSA MONKS Resolution
On view through May 7, 2016
FORUM Gallery
730 Fifth Avenue, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10019
212-355-4545 | forumgallery.com
From March 24th to May 7th, Forum
Gallery presents a one-person exhibition
of paintings by Brooklyn-based artist,
Alyssa Monks. The 13 large-scale
paintings and smaller studies on view
reveal a critical transformation in Monks’
substance and subject matter, as her
work shifts from the interior to the open
wilderness. Here, Monks demonstrates
her unmistakable ability to incorporate
the physical properties of nature into her
models, reimagining the art of realistic
portraiture while leaving lush, painterly
brushstrokes visible to the viewer.
Not standing materially on earth,
the likenesses of figures filter through
the trees as elements of light, color and
moisture—neither of the physical world
nor imaginary, they appear as apparitions.
Landscapes and portraits share a stormy,
monochromatic palette, yet, as natural and
figurative elements merge, a blossoming
of florid tones warms the canvas, creating
Alyssa Monks "Become," 2015, oil on linen, 50 x 80 inches
a sensual effect akin to the memory of a
loved one.
Since her first solo exhibition in
New York in 2006, Alyssa Monks has
demonstrated the unique ability to blend
figures seamlessly with their environment
in a natural and sensuous continuum.
In her earlier works, Monks used the
properties of water, steam and glass to
submerge and enshroud the individual. In
the current exhibition, individuals appear
as an essential element of the landscape
itself.
Alyssa Monks
"Impermanence," 2015, oil
on linen, 66 x 56 inches
Alyssa Monks earned her M.A. from
the New York Academy of Art. Her work
is included in many notable public and
private collections.
Alyssa Monks "Deference," 2015, oil on linen,
66 x 56 inches
ON THE COVER:
Alyssa Monks "Absorb," 2015, oil on linen,
56 x 56 inches
blouinARTINFO.COM
Alyssa Monks’ lifelike surfaces have
long fascinated viewers; Artist Eric Fischl,
in writing for a catalogue of Alyssa Monks’
works, stated, "There is a combination of
awe and suspicion… because on some
level you would like to see her fail at this
legerdemain, but she doesn’t. Harder
scrutiny only gives you greater pleasure."
Such pleasure awaits the viewers of Monks’
latest paintings.