Exhibit by Eric Alley

Eric Alley is Montana artist who’s studies in architecture evolved into experimenting with traditional oil painting. His contemporary models are often depicted in classical backdrops, which incorporate natures palette.

Jessie Wilber Gallery
July 8 – September 2, 2022

Artist Statement

“My greatest hope for you here with this work and the craft I intimately live with, is that you find, within it, an invite into attention — an invitation to the timeless and untrammeled.” – Eric Alley

Artist Bio

Born in southwest Montana in 1979, my formal ‘art’ education ended with my completion of architecture school at Montana State University in 2002. Two years into the profession, I moved to New York City and began my transition into oil painting. Since then, I have connected the dots in many ways and many places always revolving around my studio in Pipestone, Montana.

Entirely self-taught, the immersion into oil painting quickly rearranged my thinking about what was available to me as a creator. Leaning into this led to a fascination with the old, old craft of oil painting. Within this world gratefully, and admittedly often completely lost, I have stumbled down many magical earthy rabbit holes hidden to the modern painter long separated from a life entwined with its materials. Refining oils, making mediums and varnishes, and grinding paint are just a few of the many daily rituals that gradually led me to a more comprehensive experience that guided a reciprocal relationship between life and art.