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UPCOMING SHOW PREVIEW / BRUCE SILVERSTEIN GALLERY
Through 3/9 New York, NYN
ow open at Bruce Silverstein Gallery
in New York City is Our Luminous
Paradise, a new exhibition featuring a
selection of work from Alfred Leslie’s 100
Views Along the Road watercolor series.
The motivational seed of these roadside
images was first planted in 1966, a pivotal
year in the life of the artist. On October 17
of that year a fire consumed Leslie’s New
York City home and studio. Not only did
the blaze claim the lives of 12 firefighters,
the artist lost years of paintings and films,
including paintings destined shortly for amajor one-man exhibition at the Whitney
Museum. With the catastrophe looming
over him, and the Whitney show forfeited,
Leslie essentially had to start over.
“As a way to initially push aside, and
then work through the tremendous grief,
Leslie spent time in the Hamptons painting
watercolors of the beach. After completing
two of these beach scenes in 1966—which
were acquired by MoMA shortly there-
after—Leslie realized they were more than
mere studies for [his acclaimed series]
The Killing Cycle, and that this effortwould warrant further exploration,” the
gallery writes about the show. “In the late
1970s, he set out for California for another
change of scene, encountering a new
type of landscape to draw from. During
a road trip east from Santa Barbara in
1978, Alfred’s encounter with Gallup, New
Mexico, spurred a series of sketches that he
continued to make across America, mostly
from inside his car, that would serve as
inspiration for 100 Views. Although born
out of tragedy, the works made during this
time ultimately became the artist’s vehicleALFRED LESLIELuminosity
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