I am not going to the studio to draw. Instead, I am drawing while I live. I incorporate where I am, what I am thinking, what I remember, or imagine. These pieces are unfiltered direct output - as honest as I can be - blueprints of my stream of consciousness. My instinct is to connect these apparitions, veils, obstacles and simple marks in an effort to satisfy my curiosity... to see what it will look like. 

Rick Wester Fine Art is pleased to announce the opening of Alyse Rosner: Day to Day, Recent Drawings, 2017-2019. This will be the artist’s fifth solo exhibition with the gallery, and her first of works on paper. It will open September 12 and be on view through October 26 with the opening reception September 12, 6 - 8 pm.

Known for her daring use of layered lines creating complex abstract forms, Rosner is an innovative colorist, drawing upon a long and broad history of painting for her inspirations. This show marks the first time she has shown her monochromatic drawings without accompaniment.  Rosner has painted on wood, on Yupo, the indestructible plastic paper made of polypropylene and, more recently, she has returned to painting on raw canvas.  This exhibition marks a departure from her recent practice.  Drawing on cotton rag paper, the polar opposite of Yupo, she also departs from her signature graphite rubbings that have initiated her paintings for years. The resulting works are familiar, yet with more immediacy and freedom. Her use of line and pattern echo her paintings, instead executed starkly in black ink on the white paper ground. 

The drawings are surprisingly observational for a painter known for fluid abstraction. Rosner’s view and interpretation of seen and perceived reality allows her to further stretch her perception and mind through drawing. She describes her approach: The drawings are small - 12x9 inches, black micron pen on hot press watercolor paper. I draw from varied sources including manuscript illuminations, Indian miniatures, photos, direct observation as well as other drawings or paintings I have made. I naturally pursue layers of varied mark making that directly reflect the tools I am using, until a sensation emerges- an atmosphere, a feeling, a presence or a form. 

Rosner’s early paintings on wood were a visceral response to the physicality of woodblock printing, a process she soon came to eschew, leaving her fascinated with the inked blocks themselves. Relying solely on pen and ink, her layering and ability to create many varied textures, really stands out. Rosner’s love of line and her phenomenal ability to construct imagery is a signature. Vibrato and harlequin lines read like notes or words simultaneously, with an emphasis on mark making, often reminiscent of traditional Chinese calligraphy. She describes her impetus: This body of work began as casual automatic drawings. I bought the paper thinking I might make something at the kitchen table, on the couch or on a plane. I never expected to share them and had no idea I would become so connected to these surfaces. 

The result of so many layers of obsessive marks and flowing gestures is to break up the white space of the paper, fragmenting reality. The images are a concentrated search for the essence of a composition. Poetically and lyrically, her line work reaches, searches and at times, explodes across the surfaces. For Rosner, drawing is the backbone of art making, immediacy sparked by imagination. Rosner’s drive is to process and experiment through layering and obsessively expanding small details and marks by drawing as free association. The experience of drawing from life imbues extraordinary energy – and mystery - throughout the work.