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Artist Statement for Tyler Alpern
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I strive to make exquisite paintings, but am also interested in the whole story that an image can tell. Most importantly, there exists a beautiful work of art; but upon closer inspection, the imagery often reveals a surprising and occasionally candid or frank message in the guise of something far more tame. The paintings are frequently inspired by the unconventional and can be highly narrative, even fable like. My work is sprinkled with references to pop culture but is in no way an homage to pop. I am a student of pop culture and I admire unusual people who had the courage to be themselves and follow their own star. The characters I choose and combine to tell my stories can be historical, fictional, celebrity or personal acquaintances, but they possess a beauty often missed by the mainstream. I use pop references as a tool and metaphor for my own discourse and humor as device for attracting attention to an often serious subject matter. The story is a departure point from which I create an image that should intrigue and delight whether the viewer actually recognizes the story or characters or not. What consumes nearly one hundred percent of my time is not the telling of the story but the monumental effort to make the artwork look right, to be well painted.
I am very concerned with the actual quality of the painted image. The surface of the work is rich because of the many layers of paint applied over months to achieve the fullness and complexity of color and value that makes the paintings glow. I paint, repaint and repaint until I am satisfied with every element. As the painting nears completion and I know just how every detail should be executed, I quickly repaint almost the entire surface so that the months of work do not appear labored but instead seem fresh. Thus, complicated brush strokes and modeling seem nearly effortless yet exact. However, the under painting reveals that the finished work was not created in a few hours, but carefully planned and developed over time. Because of this I no longer see the graphic content when enjoying the finished work. I look right through the occasional car crashes, corpses, freaks, or unattractive people, and just see gorgeous painting and color.
I consider myself a colorist and remain an inventive painter. Just because I have painted something before, such as sky, water or flesh, I do not know how I will paint those same subjects the next time. I have no formulas or routines. I have to discover how to paint a subject in each and every new painting. There is very little repetition. I have to reinvent the wheel every time. Because of this I am not a particularly prolific painter. Almost all of my work takes at least a year to complete, yet I do work on multiple pieces at a time. I also do not work in series, I have to find a new subject and story for each work. This keeps me very interested in my own work, slows down my output, but ensures the uniqueness and freshness of each painting. I am not a production painter, there are no shortcuts and I value each individual painting.
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