Alise Mona Loebelsohn

Biography

Alise Loebelsohn graduated from Pratt Institute with a BFA in Painting. She painted murals in local psychiatric hospitals and public places and painted murals in many places such as the White House. After that, she worked as the only female billboard painter in NYC. While there she painted the large DKNY mural on Houston Street in NY. She worked in Times Square and on numerous highways around the city. She then worked as a decorative painter in stores such as Henri Bendel, Bergdorf Goodman, Niketown and executed many murals and decorative surfaces. She also executed all the murals and signage at Yankee Stadium before it was torn down. In 2001 Alise started her own Decorative Painting Company called Pompeii Studios LLC. She had more freedom to create surfaces and explore materials by using them in a variety of ways. She worked in David Rockefeller's home and the homes of many other well-known celebrities. She has devoted much time to growing her business and learning how all materials work. 

Alise has always worked on her own art; she feels that her professional work experience has helped her own art immensely. She then took a break to have kids and build her decorative painting business. In 2012 she had a large one-person show at the Gertrude White Gallery in Greenwich Connecticut, She has had many pieces in group shows including Gallery 440 in Brooklyn, SpaceWomb Gallery, Prince Street Gallery Juried Show, Brigits Well, Walter Wikiser Gallery Chelsea, Affordable Art Fair- Julio Valdez Project Space, Carrie Able Gallery- Williamsburg Brooklyn, Ward Nasse Gallery-Soho, Walter Wikiser Gallery Chelsea, Spectrum Miami- Artblend Gallery, Art Hamptons- Artblend Gallery and many more. Throughout working as a professional decorative/mural painter, Alise never forgot that it is always about the art. Over the last 12 years, she has built a large series of paintings relating to texture, surface, and pattern. She wishes to take her experience in the decorative arts and use it to pursue her own personal vision. She paints because it heals, focuses, and inspires her. She chooses themes that are simple and easily understood. She hopes her work will resonate with others and knows that part of the process is getting the work seen. Alise lives with her husband and two sons in Brooklyn New York.

Artist statement

My paintings emerge out of the process of materials that I use. I begin the paintings by layering the surface with many layers of Venetian plaster over a birch plywood surface. This material contains marble dust, lime, and plaster. It is a variation of the frescos used in Italy.

By layering the plaster and compressing the material, the plaster builds a polished shine. The force of the compression of layers reveals a cross-section of materials, as the layers in the earth through the passage of time. Line and color are very important to me. I want the line to flow and not look like it is copied or stiff. The line should separate the spaces and eventually create a shape. The line quality moves through space and does not overtake the panel. I then think about how the color will relate to the line and the overall composition. I wish to create an overall harmony within the surface.

When the shapes appear, I then like to work with patterns. There are a variety of brush marks, some are more defined than others. It is a real place but an imaginary one. There are forms you can see through. There is a feeling that you can go beneath the surface and something is there. Since the light on the panel is constantly changing, the reflection changes with the light and the dominant colors change due to the reflection of the mica powders in wax.

My work is about the patterns and images that randomly appear in nature all around us. The shapes are built up through different layers that are applied and scraped away. A line from one layer may come through another layer and a shape is formed. It is not an outline, but the building up of line and color, like memories that can fade but then come to the surface if something sparks a memory. I am interested in those murky areas where there are no clear truths. It is here where I try to imagine the laws of imaginary worlds and how I can make sense of the universe in which we live.