On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions
FOR HIS SOLO EXHIBITION DEBUT, Patrick Alston is presenting a series of abstract paintings made over the past year. “Let There Be Light” at Ross + Kramer Gallery in New York explores color theory, materiality, and mental health.
Before he begins painting, Alston works with a variety of media, methods, and textiles. “My process of creating an artwork begins with finding materials,” the artist has explained. “Based on the materials that I find, I then begin to lay out a composition that incorporates found objects in addition to hand-dyed and store-bought fabrics that function as the base for the pieces. Upon laying out the base orientation of the paintings, I then sew these elements together, and from that point, I stretch the work and then begin the process of painting.”
“Let There Be Light” is both a visual and emotional statement. Informed by the energy and diverse forms and composition of the urban landscape, the brightness of Alston’s work is readily apparent. At the same time, the artist has in mind the history of redlining and the durable challenges still facing working-class communities like Bronx, N.Y., where he grew up. After the isolation and fear of the COVID-19 pandemic, trauma of police murders, urgency of the Black Lives Matter protests, and perennial injustice issues from inequality and unemployment to affordable housing and gentrification, any measure of light is a welcome reprieve.
Alston divides his time between The Bronx and New Haven, Conn. He begins a six-week residency this month at Gallery 1957 in Accra, Ghana. CT
“Patrick Alston: Let There Be Light,” curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah, is on view at Ross + Kramer Gallery, New York, N.Y., from April 3-May 15, 2021
FIND MORE about the exhibition
Installation view of “Patrick Alston: Let There Be Light,” Ross + Kramer Gallery, New York, N.Y. (April 3-May 15, 2021). Shown, at right, “Set Suns,” 2021 (acrylic, oil, oil stick and found objects on sewn fabric and vinyl, 72 x 72 inches / 183 x 183 cm). | Courtesy the artist and Ross + Kramer Gallery
Installation view of “Patrick Alston: Let There Be Light,” Ross + Kramer Gallery, New York, N.Y. (April 3-May 15, 2021). | Courtesy the artist and Ross + Kramer Gallery
Installation view of “Patrick Alston: Let There Be Light,” Ross + Kramer Gallery, New York, N.Y. (April 3-May 15, 2021). Shown, clockwise from top left, “Displaced 05 (Hazardous),” 2021 (acrylic, oil, oil stick and found objects on sewn fabric and vinyl,
36 x 36 inches / 91 x 91 cm); Displaced 03 (Future Development), 2021; Displaced 01 (Still Desirable), 2021; Displaced 02 (Declining), 2021; Displaced 04 (OSHA), 2021; Displaced 06 (Eminent Domain), 2021. | Courtesy the artist and Ross + Kramer Gallery
Installation view of “Patrick Alston: Let There Be Light,” Ross + Kramer Gallery, New York, N.Y. (April 3-May 15, 2021). | Courtesy the artist and Ross + Kramer Gallery
Installation view of “Patrick Alston: Let There Be Light,” Ross + Kramer Gallery, New York, N.Y. (April 3-May 15, 2021). Shown, from left, “A Place We Once Called Home” (2021) and “A Few Stars, A lot of Stripes” (2021). | Courtesy the artist and Ross + Kramer Gallery
Installation view of “Patrick Alston: Let There Be Light,” Ross + Kramer Gallery, New York, N.Y. (April 3-May 15, 2021). | Courtesy the artist and Ross + Kramer Gallery
TOP IMAGE: Installation view of PATRICK ALSTON, “A Change Gon Come,” 2021 (acrylic, oil, oil stick and found objects on sewn fabric and vinyl, 84 x 108 inches / 213 x 274 cm). | Courtesy the artist and ross + Kramer Gallery
FIND MORE about Patrick Alston on his website
