Alison Van Pelt

So you’ve checked back in after my brief hiatus and you’re wondering, “Who’s this Mrs. Decollage?”….

Confession: All I want for Christmas is this painting by Alison Van Pelt.  It haunts me.

But who am I kidding? Every one of her paintings is seriously divine.  I’d take any of them!

From her famously haunting nudes to her Native Americans, animals, and more recent work from the “If I Were Ed Ruscha” series (like the one of Frida Kahlo above), Van Pelt has a way with the brush that strikes a delicate balance between ethereal and boldly powerful.

A true 1970’s California girl, Van Pelt’s painstaking photorealist style is tied to the influx of photography into the art world and is inspired by disparate influences such as Chuck Close, Robert Rauschenberg, Gerhard Richter, Helmut Newton, Paramahansa Yogananda, Dan Millman, and Hunter S. Thompson.  It’s a powerful mix and something that is oddly tangible in her work. The canvases range in size from less than 8x10 inches to over 8x10 feet and are currently held by some of the most important art collectors and institutions in the world.  

Here’s a little peek into her world……….