The New Museum is pleased to announce that it will feature the first solo museum-presentation of New York-based artist Ellen Altfest's work. 

Altfest is a figurative painter whose intimately scaled works convey a distinct approach to realism and a sustained commitment to looking. Her painstaking depictions result in paintings that expand perception while exposing overlooked or under-appreciated aspects of her subject matter. Painting from life, over a long period of time, she chooses subjects ranging from plants, rocks, logs, and gourds to a more recent fascination with the male figure. The exhibition at the New Museum will present a group of works from this latest series.

Folds of skin, an opened armpit, a tuft of hair, the delicate veins in the hand—discrete elements of ordinary male bodies—are intensely scrutinized and rendered in exquisite detail with immeasurable care. A universe of information lies within the shallow depth of field and thin layers of oil paint that comprise each work. This excess of information renders Altfest’s figures unfamiliar and abstract, as if one were seeing these parts of the body for the first time.

Eschewing traditional compositional formats in favor of unexpected cropping and juxtapositions, Altfest creates a compelling friction in the picture plane. 'Head and Plant' (2010), as the title denotes, is a painting of a male head and a potted cactus. The conventions of portraiture are upended, however, by Altfest’s decision to obstruct the face of the male figure with a plant. Instead of an identifiable visage, one is met with the confounding presence of a cactus, whose intrusion appears as matter of fact as it is absurd. The Back (2008–2009) depicts a body on its side, turned away from the viewer. Errant hairs, pink blemishes, and the curve of a shoulder blade serve as landmarks on this vast expanse of corporeality. With a heightened sense of realism and a narrowing of focus, Altfest reveals the extraordinary complexity of ordinary things.

'Ellen Altfest: Head and Plant' is curated by Jenny Moore, Assistant Curator.

'Ellen Altfest: Head and Plant' 
235 Bowery
New York
NY 10002

Tel: +1 212 219 1222

Wednesday: 11am - 6pm
Thursday: 11am - 9pm
Friday, Saturday and Sunday: 11am - 6pm
Monday and Tuesday: closed

6 May - 24 June 2012

Ellen Altfest  Head and Plant  2010  Oil on canvas
© the artist  Photo: Todd-White Art Photography  Courtesy White Cube