Alan Feltus 
Equilibria, 2002 
oil on linen 
39 1/4 x 47 1/4 inches

Alan Feltus
The Landscape Painter, 2001
oil on linen
23 1/2 x 29 1/2 inches

December 12, 2002 – January 18, 2003

Forum Gallery presents the exhibition Alan Feltus: New Paintings. Through the use of original, creative juxtapositions and a rare quietude in his paintings, Alan Feltus makes the figure the primary focus of his work. Fifteen new paintings will be included, and the exhibition will be accompanied by a fully-illustrated color catalogue.

Born in 1943, in Washington, D.C., Alan Feltus now lives in Assisi, Italy, providing him with direct access to the Renaissance works of Giotto, Piero della Francesca, and Paolo Uccello. As a result, old masters assume a pivotal role in his work as both inspiration and muse, replacing traditional life models. Alan Feltus studies these artists’ masterworks, blending their observations of the past with his own ideas on contemporary relationships.

Depicting relationships is at the heart of Alan Feltus’ imagery. Whether portraying husbands and wives, siblings, lovers, or friends, he communicates feelings of sadness, dismay and loneliness by isolating figures and casting them in his enigmatic dramas. Seeking to express the inexpressible, he uses body language as a tool. As is true in early Italian Renaissance paintings, Feltus' figures rarely seem to direct their eyes towards the viewer. Women and men gaze longingly or suspiciously through dimmed or large, turned eyes, making them appear perplexed. He illustrates their hands so that they appear to be clutched or reaching out, though they never are successful at reaching another person. Bodies are postured awkwardly so that they appear aloof and frozen in a moment. All these elements help Alan Feltus render the complexities of emotion.

Alan Feltus has had one-person gallery exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles and Washington D.C., as well as Chicago, San Francisco, New Orleans and Rome. His work has been included in exhibitions at the American Academy in Rome (New York and Rome), The Joseph H. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Washington, D.C.), The National Academy Museum (New York), and the National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C. He has also been commissioned by the American Medical Association in Washington, D.C., and The Montana Building in New York. In 2001, he received the Raymond P.R. Neilson Prize given by the National Academy of Design in New York.

©2005 Forum Gallery