Sebastian Alsfeld

Born: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Living and working in Harbin, China.

Artist Statement:

I have always understood painting as a medium that embodies a thought process which depicts an accumulation of marks over a period of time. My paintings are a record of actions and reactions which often result in explosive, fractured, and chaotic images. I am interested in paintings that need to be visually unpacked; to discover which actions or marks came first and how they were applied and constructed.

I pursue no objectives, no system, no tendency; I have no program, no style, no direction. I have no time for specialized concerns, working themes or variations that lead to mastery. I steer clear of definitions. I don’t know what I want. I am inconsistent, noncommittal, passive; I like the indefinite, the boundless; I like continual uncertainty.
—Gerhard Richter
Me, too.
—Manuel Ocampo
Me, three.
_Sebastian Alsfeld

I chanced upon an interview online with Matt Mullen interviewing painter, Amy Sillman (interviewmagazine.c-o-m/art/the-art-of-amy-sillman) . She seems to sum up my feelings about painting better than I could possibly express, so here are some...

1999-2002 Bachelor of Fine Arts with distinction, Painting Major, Alberta College of Art and Design, Calgary, AB. ( Studied under acclaimed Canadian painter, Chris Cran.)

1996-1998 Fine Arts Diploma, Grant MacEwan Community College, Edmonton, AB.

EXHIBITION RECORD

2012
Stand Up and be Dead, Gallery 601, Harbin, China (solo)

2010
If You Know, The Rumpus Room, Surrey, B.C. (solo)

2008
Last Chance Exit Strategy, GRG Gallery, Surrey, B.C. (solo)

2004
Minor Delusions of Grandeur! Stride Gallery, Calgary, AB (group)

2002
ACAD Graduation Show, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary, AB (group)

2001
ACAD Collective Works, Artspace Gallery, Calgary, AB (group)

ACAD Graduation Show, Illingworth Kerr Gallery, Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary, AB (group)

Bad News, 371 Gallery, Alberta College of Art & Design, Calgary, AB
(two person show)

2000
Fake! Forgery!, Stride Gallery, Calgary, AB (group)

Creatures That Come In All Shapes, Sizes and Personalities, Marion Nicoll Gallery, Calgary, AB, (solo)