BRIAN ALFRED
511 West 22nd Street New York NY 10011 515 West 22nd Street New York NY 10011 525 West 22nd Street New York NY 10011 520 West 21st Street New York NY 10011 BRIAN ALFRED
BEAUTY IS A RARE THING
By Annabel Keenan“This might seem like an outlier,” Brian Alfred says as we stand in his Brooklyn studio considering a work for his exhibition, Beauty Is a Rare Thing, at Miles McEnery Gallery. His point is valid. Among a grouping of new acrylic paintings and animations featuring architecture and hints of landscapes, the latter often seen through windows, this image is the only one with a figure—his wife, Yoshika. Other works in the group might include a glimpse of a person (and the second part of the show features portraits entirely), but this piece focuses our attention on the woman. Yoshika stands with her back to the viewer on what appears to be a balcony, her features reduced to a dark shadow backlit by the vibrant blue water and sky that spread across the vista in front of her. She, like the viewer, is looking out onto this serene expanse, holding up her camera to take a photo. In the distance are impressive mountains and cliffs. A closer look reveals a tunnel and passenger train. The title of the piece is Capturing the Moment (2023), a description of Yoshika’s act of photographing the scene before her, as well as a nod to Alfred’s own process of memorializing this exact moment.
Perhaps this painting is not an outlier at all. Throughout this part of the show, Alfred captures the ephemeral, silencing the noise of the world and focusing solely on the composition. In every image, there is a sense that he is not only preserving the memory of a place, but also the essence of a specific time. This show, Alfred tells me, is more personal than his others. Each image in this section is based on a photograph he has taken, or a creation of his own mind translated and flattened onto the canvas in bold colors and crisp lines. The places featured are not new to Alfred. Some are everyday glimpses from his life in New York. In Stormy Still (2023), a view of a gray night is seen through the window of his Brooklyn home.
3
Heavy raindrops fall across the sky with such intensity, you almost expect to hear them crashing against the glass. Other images are invented, such as the sun-filled modern living room in Dream Home (2023). With vast, floor-to-ceiling windows framing luscious greenery and trees, the spacious room and pristine image of the natural world are a far cry from the dark sky that encroaches on Alfred’s Brooklyn apartment. Indeed, in the apartment the only sign of nature is a row of flowers, some drooping as if near death, that lines the windowsill. Hanging on the wall of the modern dream home is a painting of a lively cityscape set against a vibrant pink sunset, an idealized perspective of urban dwelling.
It’s unclear whether the scene in Dream Home represents a dream achieved or one yet to be fulfilled. Perhaps the house is meant to always be a dream, constantly serving as a source of inspiration or a mental respite from the stresses of the world. Indeed, the context of Alfred’s subjects is often ambiguous; they are united by their inherent capacity to change. The tempestuous skies of Stormy Still will inevitably give way to better weather, and the sun streaming through the windows in Dream Home is just as likely to be replaced by a blizzard. The emotions and interpretations that arise with each work are left up to the viewer.
Windows feature prominently in the show. These windows, far from the voyeuristic trope of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, appear to be framing their subjects and offering an intimate vantage point. We are not peering into the three brightly lit windows in Night Village (2023); rather, we gaze at the building as a whole and react to the contrasting light and darkness of the façade and the rich blue of the sky as night settles in. Windows also serve to reflect the world around them, seen best in the mirror-like glass lining the hotel balconies in El Paraíso (2023), a painting inspired by a trip to the Dominican Republic. Even in the seeming outlier, Capturing the Moment, Alfred uses the minimal architectural features of the balcony she stands on to frame Yoshika. The lenses of her sunglasses and phone create additional views through which to observe the landscape before her.
Capturing the Moment is one of several works in the show based on images from Alfred’s recent trip to Japan, a country his family visits often. He now views many
4
of the experiences and routines that were restricted during Covid with different eyes. “I didn’t specifically think of this show in relation to Covid, but the reality is, I started to see and appreciate things differently post-Covid,” he says. “It is a time reference and cultural shift that is unavoidable.”
The result is a series of paintings that unfold like a journey defined by moments of rediscovering the familiar and an appreciation for the colors, shapes, and patterns of the built and natural environment. In En Route (2023), a view of neatly partitioned plots of land appears through an airplane window, marking the start of a journey epitomized by the excitement and wonder of viewing the world from above. If En Route depicts the beginning of Alfred’s journey, perhaps Duty Free (2023) marks the end. As if preserving one last moment of the trip, the painting features a window that frames a colorful sky just outside an airport. A vibrant pink and yellow horizon suggests the onset of dusk or dawn, another example of the artist’s keen ability to portray the passage of time.
In the journey between these two paintings, Alfred documents his family’s trip across Japan, including stops in Osaka, Tokyo, and Kurashiki. He often hones in on the architecture, zooming in on specific elements in each city, like the washing machines in Coin Laundry (2023) and the bright orange window breaking up an otherwise austere, gray façade in Lone Window (2022). In others, he zooms out, offering the viewer an expansive vantage point, like the tight blocks of highrise buildings in Osaka Gym View (2023). Again, we see Alfred preserving the ephemeral, from the bubbles spinning in the laundromat washing machine to the train weaving through Osaka. A train appears again in one of the animations in the show, this time coming and going through the scene. Perhaps it is the same train Yoshika photographed. In Seaside (2023), elements from Capturing the Moment pop up again, as we see another vantage point of the same landscape, though Yoshika is missing. This time, our attention is drawn to the vista itself, seen through the bold window frames.
Far from being an outlier, Capturing the Moment relates more broadly to Alfred’s practice. He paints Yoshika often, sometimes in brief glimpses, homing in on small
5
moments of beauty, like her hair falling across her neck or the glow of her skin. Portraiture in general is a significant part of his creative process; he sketches constantly, on paper and digitally. While the people and objects he sketches don’t always appear in his final compositions, the practice sharpens his skills.
In 2008, however, portraiture was at the fore of Alfred’s work. That year, he had a solo show of painted and animated portraits at Haunch of Venison in Berlin that featured 333 people who have had an impact on contemporary culture, as well as on Alfred’s practice. “Some were people I drew inspiration from directly or indirectly, but others just happened to be on my mind that day,” he says. “It became more of a stream of consciousness.” Each work showed the subject against a solid-color background, devoid of additional context, thus focusing the viewer’s attention on the subject.
6
(Left) Brian Alfred, Shahzia Sikander, 2006, Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 9 inches (30 x 23 cm). Courtesy of the artist.
(Right) Brian Alfred, David Hockney, 2006, Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 9 inches (30 x 23 cm). Courtesy of the artist.
Beauty Is a Rare Thing also features a new body of portraits that recall this earlier series. Depicting musicians from different genres, ethnic backgrounds, and music scenes, such as the British producer and recording artist Jai Paul, the rapper Denzel Curry, and the bass player and singer-songwriter April Kae, the grouping represents the artist’s eclectic taste. Each portrait is set against a bare, off-white background—almost as if the artist has democratized their settings. Unlike most of the works in the show, which are based on Alfred’s own experiences and photographs, these portraits are sourced from images found on the Internet and social media. They add to the personal element of the show, offering insight into the songs that fill his studio and his daily life. Alfred’s appreciation of music is also apparent in the exhibition title itself, which references the song of the jazz musician Ornette Coleman.
Within each work in Beauty Is a Rare Thing, Alfred captures the essence of a moment—a specific emotion in the portraits, the path of a train along railroad
7
Brian Alfred, Rae Cassidy, 2006, Acrylic on canvas, 12 x 9 inches (30 x 23 cm). Courtesy of the artist.
tracks, the spin of bubbles churning in a washing machine. Personal interpretations and feelings will arise for viewers, but we will never fully know the context of each moment depicted, and we will certainly never be able to experience these moments ourselves. What we can know for certain is that these places do exist, and these moments did transpire. Moreover, each window will inevitably frame another fleeting image for another person at another point in time. Maybe that’s the beauty of Alfred’s work. Only he knows what it meant to see Yoshika photograph the train, and only she knows what it felt like to take that shot. Neither will know what the passengers experienced as they swiftly exited the dark tunnel into an expanse of light bathing the sky, sea, and mountains. Beauty really is a rare thing; you just need to take a moment to find it.
Annabel Kennan is a Brooklyn-based writer specializing in contemporary art and sustainability. She contributes to The New York Times, The Art Newspaper, Brooklyn Rail, and Cultured Magazine, among other publications.
8
12
Lone Window, 2022
Acrylic on canvas
50 x 45 inches
127 x 114.3 cm
14
Capturing the Moment, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 50 inches
152.4 x 127 cm
16
Coin Laundry, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 50 inches
152.4 x 127 cm
18
Daikanyama, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 50 inches
152.4 x 127 cm
20
Dream Home, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 72 inches
152.4 cm x 182.9 cm
22
Duty Free, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
48 x 42 inches
121.9 x 106.7 cm
24
El Paraíso, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 50 inches
152.4 x 127 cm
26
En Route, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
74 1/4 x 62 1/8 inches
188.6 x 157.8 cm
28
Kurashiki Ki, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 50 inches
152.4 x 127 cm
30
Night Village, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
60 3/8 x 72 inches
153.4 x 182.9 cm
32
Osaka Gym View, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 50 inches
152.4 x 127 cm
34
Prismatic Window, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
72 x 84 inches
182.9 x 213.4 cm
36
Seaside, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 50 inches
152.4 x 127 cm
38
Smog, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
60 x 72 inches
152.4 cm x 182.9 cm
40
Stormy Still, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
48 x 41 inches
121.9 x 104.1 cm
42
Beauty Is A Rare Thing, 2024
Acrylic on canvas 10 x 8 inches
25.4 x 20.3 cm
44
April, 2024
Acrylic on canvas over panel
48 x 44 inches
121.9 x 111.8 cm
46
Audrey Nuna, 2024
Acrylic on canvas over panel
48 x 44 inches
121.9 x 111.8 cm
48
Bea, 2024
Acrylic on canvas over panel
48 x 44 inches
121.9 x 111.8 cm
50
Bibio, 2024
Acrylic on canvas over panel
48 x 44 inches
121.9 x 111.8 cm
52
Denzel Curry, 2024
Acrylic on canvas over panel
48 x 44 inches
121.9 x 111.8 cm
54
J Balvin, 2024
Acrylic on canvas over panel
48 x 44 inches
121.9 x 111.8 cm
56
Jai Paul, 2024
Acrylic on canvas over panel
48 x 44 inches
121.9 x 111.8 cm
58
Rosalía, 2024
Acrylic on canvas over panel
48 x 44 inches
121.9 x 111.8 cm
60
Tennyson, 2024
Acrylic on canvas over panel
48 x 44 inches
121.9 x 111.8 cm
BRIAN ALFRED
Born in Pittsburgh, PA in 1974 Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY
EDUCATION
1999
MFA, Yale University, New Haven, CT Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Madison, ME
1997
BFA, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024
“Beauty is A Rare Thing,” Miles McEnery Gallery, New York, NY
2022
“Escape Plan,” Miles McEnery Gallery, New York, NY
2021
“New World,” Maho Kubota Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2019
“High Rises and Double Vision: Images of New York,” Miles McEnery Gallery, New York, NY
2018
“Future Shock,” Miles McEnery Gallery, New York, NY
2017
“Techno Garden,” Maho Kubota Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
2016
“In Praise of Shadows,” Ameringer | McEnery | Yohe, New York, NY
2015
“It Takes A Million Years To Become Diamonds So Let’s Just Burn Like Coal Until The Sky Is Black,” Ameringer | McEnery | Yohe, New York, NY
2014
“New Animations,” Hezi Cohen Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
“Beauty in Danger,” Salon 94 Video Wall, New York, NY
2013
“Storms and Stress,” Hezi Cohen Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel
2012
“It’s Already the End of the World,” Frist Center for Visual Art, Nashville, TN
2011
“Co-op,” Giraud Pissarro Ségalot, New York, NY “Rise Above,” Haunch of Venison, London, England
2010
“It’s Already the End of the World,” Haunch of Venison, New York, NY
2009
“Majic Window,” Studio La Città, Verona, Italy
63
2008
“Millions Now Living Will Never Die!!!,” Haunch of Venison, Berlin, Germany
2007
“Global Warning,” SCAI the Bathhouse, Tokyo, Japan
2006
“Surveillance,” Haunch of Venison, Zurich, Switzerland
“Space is the Place!,” Mary Boone Gallery, New York, NY
2005
“Paper and Pixels,” Mary Boone Gallery, New York, NY
“Conspiracy?,” Haunch of Venison, London, England
2004
“The Future is Now!,” Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
“Overload,” Max Protetch Gallery, New York, NY
“Fallout,” Samek Art Gallery, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA
2003
“New Work,” Sandroni Rey Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2002
Max Protetch Gallery, New York, NY
2000
Max Protetch Gallery, New York, NY
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022
“CITY - COUNTRY - CONNECTIVITY,” KUNST für ANGELN e.V. | Wittkielhof, Angeln, Germany
“Island Time,” Volery Gallery, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
“Why I Make Art” (curated by Brian Alfred), Miles McEnery Gallery, New York, NY
“HOME/STUDIO,” Palmer Museum of Art, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
2021
“Transformed: Objects Reimagined by American Artists,” Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ
2020
“Do You Think it Needs a Cloud?” Miles McEnery Gallery, New York, NY
2019
“Fixed Contained,” Kotaro Nukaga Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
“Alex Katz, Brian Alfred, Guy Yanai, Laurel Nakadate, Taro Komiya, Ryunosuke Yasui: Door Into Summer / M’s collection +,” Maho Kubota Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
Rag & Bone Mural, Houston Street, New York, NY
“Art on Link,” Art on LINK/NYC Kiosks, New York, NY
2018
“Belief in Giants,” Miles McEnery Gallery, New York, NY
64
2017
“The Frame,” Samsung Art TV, Samsung, USA
“Like Oxygen,” Mountain Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2016
“Room with a View,” EDDYSROOM, Brooklyn, NY
“Art Film,” Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami Beach, FL
“Tokyo / London / New York,” Maho Kubota Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
“Audacious: Contemporary Artists Speak Out,” Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
“Genbi Shinkansen,” Echigo Yuzawa, Niigata Prefecture, Japan
“In an Illusion Village: Our Form Connected by Media Art,” Aomori Museum of Art, Aomori City, Japan
“Extended Practice,” Palmer Museum of Art, Pennsylvania State Univeristy, University Park, PA
2015
“BLACK | WHITE,” Ameringer | McEnery | Yohe, New York, NY
“The Search For The Real,” DeBuck Gallery, New York, NY
“Villissima,” Hôtel Des Arts, Toulon, France
“The Everywhere Exotic,” Culturadora, Art Miami NY, New York, NY
Animation Screening, Marfa Contemporary, Marfa, TX; Animation at the Dallas Art Fair, Dallas, TX
2014
“BLACK/WHITE,” LaMontagne Gallery, Boston, MA
“Art Film,” Art Basel Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
“100 Works for 100 Years: A Centennial Celebration,” Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ
“Mercury Retrograde: Animated Realities,” Williams Center Gallery, Lafayette College, Easton, PA
“Film Cologne,” Art Cologne, Cologne, Germany
2013
“Uncanny Congruencies,” Palmer Museum of Art, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
“Art Film,” Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami Beach, FL
“Mercury Retrograde: Animated Realities,” Stephen Stoyanov Gallery, New York, NY
“Epic Fail,” Storefront Ten Eyck, Brooklyn, NY
2012
“exURBAN SCREENS,” Frankston Arts Centre/ Cube 37, Melbourne, Australia
15th Japan Media Arts Festival, Tokyo, Japan
“Sourced,” Steven Vail Fine Arts, Des Moines, IA
2011
“Beyond,” SCAI the Bathhouse, Tokyo, Japan
“Videosphere: A New Generation,” AlbrightKnox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
“The Big Screen Project,” Big Screen Plaza, New York, NY
‘Printer’s Proof,” Bertrand Delacroix Gallery, New York, NY
2010
“12th International Cairo Biennale,” Cairo, Egypt
“The Big Screen Project,” Big Screen Plaza, New York, NY
“Me, Undoubtedly. 1309 Faces,” Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, Germany
65
“Aichi Triennale,” Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art, Nagoya, Japan
“Surface Tension,” South Bend Museum of Art, South Bend, IN
“onedotzero,” Curtis R. Priem Media & Performing Arts Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Insititute, Troy, NY
“New Art For A New Century,” Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
2009
“Mercury Retrograde: Animated Realities,” Big Medium Gallery, Austin, TX
“The Figure and Dr. Freud,” Haunch of Venison, New York, NY
2008
“Uncoordinated: Mapping Cartography in Contemporary Art,” Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH
“Ru Ru Ru Landscape: How I see the World Around Me,” Shizuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, Shizuoka, Japan
“Teaching An Old Dog New Tricks,” Den Frie Centre of Contemporary Art, Copenhagen, Denmark
2007
“The Shapes of Space,” Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
“System Error: War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning,” Palazzo delle Papesse, Sienna, Italy
“Art Fair Tokyo,” Tokyo, Japan
“Art Film,” Art Basel, Basel, Switzerland
2006
“The 59th Minute, Times Square Panasonic Astrovision Screen,” Creative Time, New York, NY
“Invitational Exhibition,” American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, NY
“Radar: Selections from the Kent and Vicki Logan Collection,” Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
“New Code,” Studio La Città, Verona, Italy
“Signal Channel: Contemporary Video Art,” Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, NE
2005
“Produced at Eyebeam,” Eyebeam, New York, NY
“Surface,” Lucas Schoormans Gallery, New York, NY
“ART!@*><WORK,” Ignivomous, New York, NY
2004
“Metropolis,” National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
“Art and Architecture 1900 – 2000,” Palazzo Ducale, Genoa, Italy
“Inaugural Show,” Sandroni Rey Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
“Trouble in Paradise,” Van Brunt Gallery, New York, NY
“Happy Ending,” Kingfisher Projects, Queens, NY
2003
“Toxic,” Max Protetch Gallery, New York, NY
“Digital Showcase,” Austin Museum of Digital Art, Austin, TX
1999
“Group Show,” Max Protetch Gallery, New York, NY
“MFA Thesis Exhibition,” Yale School of Art Gallery, New Haven, CT
66
SOUND & VISION PODCAST
Brian Alfred is the host of SOUND & VISION, a podcast of conversations with artists and musicians about the creative process. Guests have included Diana Al-Hadid, Jules de Balincourt, Inka Essenhigh, Dominique Fung, Daniel Heidkamp, Ridley Howard, Kahlil Robert Irving, Byron Kim, Hein Koh, Chris Martin, Tony Matelli, Leeza Meksin, Hilary Pecis, Tom Sachs, James Siena, Sarah Slappey, Alexandria Smith, Fred Tomaselli, and Chloe Wise.
AWARDS
2018
College of Art & Architecture Faculty Research Grant, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
2016
College of Art & Architecture Faculty Research Grant, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
2015
Institute for the Arts and Humanities Individual Faculty Grant, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA Jerome Foundation Grant, St. Paul, MN
2013
Carriage House Arts Residency, Islip, NY Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, New York, NY
2011
Excellence Award, Japan Media Arts Festival, Tokyo, Japan
2008
Pennsylvania State University Alumni Achievement Award, University Park, PA
2006
Joan Mitchell Foundation Award, New York, NY
American Academy of Arts and Letters Purchase Award, New York, NY
Pennsylvania State University Alumni Achievement Award, University Park, PA
2005
New York Foundation of the Arts Inspiration Award, New York, NY
2003
Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, New York, NY
1999
Phelps Berdan Memorial Award, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Skowhegan Match Scholarship, Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Madison, ME
1997
Edwin W. Zoller Scholarship, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
SELECT COLLECTIONS
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
Cleveland Clinic Art Program, Lyndhurst, OH
Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO
Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY
Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, TX
67
Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, NJ
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT
Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, CA
Palmer Museum of Art, Penn State University, University Park, PA
Phoenix Museum of Art, Phoenix, AZ
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY
University Museum of Contemporary Art, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Amherst, MA
Weisman Art Museum, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Corporate Art Collection, Des Moines, IA
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
68
Published on the occasion of the exhibition
BRIAN ALFRED
BEAUTY IS A RARE THING
28 March – 11 May 2024
Miles McEnery Gallery
511 West 22nd Street New York NY 10011
tel +1 212 445 0051
www.milesmcenery.com
Publication © 2024 Miles McEnery Gallery
All rights reserved
Essay © 2024 Annabel Keenan
Publications and Archival Associate Julia Schlank, New York, NY
Photography by Dan Bradica, New York, NY
Catalogue layout by Spevack Loeb, New York, NY
ISBN: 979-8-3507-2810-1
Cover: Prismatic Window, (detail), 2023
