Charlie Alston (b. 1997, San Francisco, USA)
is currently based in Paris, France.
By repurposing the elements of the past and present in his work, Charlie seeks to open people up to the unique position that we occupy in modern time, one full of possibility and potential new forms of being, while also respecting and nurturing local specificity and a global history of cultural diversity. His work blends abstract expressionism, figuration, elements of sign painting, drawing from archival references like post-war magazines such as ‘Ebony’ and ‘Jet’ targeted at the African American experience domestically and abroad, the philosophies of Édouard Glissant and architect Rem Koolhaas, street photography, and the history of art and design as a whole. In his practice, familiar icons, histories and narratives, come head to head with the obscure, the unknown, and the teetering edge of new possibility. And in such, he looks to unpack, critique, and celebrate the systems they represent. Each piece serves as a conversation starter about cultural connectivity and the complexities of community within the contemporary global context. Charlie often finds himself engaging with the ongoing exploration of the previously mentioned Martiniquen writer and philosopher Édouard Glissant’s ’mondialité’, urging viewers to recognize the ways in which we can move into the modern world by relating to each other and not by global homogenization. Fundamentally his practice is a celebration of life in all its forms.
is currently based in Paris, France.
By repurposing the elements of the past and present in his work, Charlie seeks to open people up to the unique position that we occupy in modern time, one full of possibility and potential new forms of being, while also respecting and nurturing local specificity and a global history of cultural diversity. His work blends abstract expressionism, figuration, elements of sign painting, drawing from archival references like post-war magazines such as ‘Ebony’ and ‘Jet’ targeted at the African American experience domestically and abroad, the philosophies of Édouard Glissant and architect Rem Koolhaas, street photography, and the history of art and design as a whole. In his practice, familiar icons, histories and narratives, come head to head with the obscure, the unknown, and the teetering edge of new possibility. And in such, he looks to unpack, critique, and celebrate the systems they represent. Each piece serves as a conversation starter about cultural connectivity and the complexities of community within the contemporary global context. Charlie often finds himself engaging with the ongoing exploration of the previously mentioned Martiniquen writer and philosopher Édouard Glissant’s ’mondialité’, urging viewers to recognize the ways in which we can move into the modern world by relating to each other and not by global homogenization. Fundamentally his practice is a celebration of life in all its forms.