Carl D’Alvia “Sometimes Sculpture Deserves a Break”

Hesse Flatow

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HESSE FLATOW presents a solo exhibition of new works by sculptor Carl D’Alvia, which will include the debut of his newest series of large-scale, brightly-colored aluminum sculptures which he refers to as “Liths.” Sometimes Sculpture Deserves a Break marks the artist’s first exhibition with the gallery.

Known for his hyper-textured sculptures in resin,
bronze, and marble, D’Alvia explores the limits of
traditional sculpture, making work that is at once
minimal and maximal, humorous and tragic. For his
“Liths” series, D’Alvia continues to explore sculptural
dichotomies with monumental works in painted
aluminum that appear both hard and soft; serious and
funny; masculine and feminine. Drawing from ancient
monoliths as well as 1970’s works by Tony Conrad,

Elizabeth Murray, Alexander Calder, and John McCracken, D’Alvia looks at the concept of the statue or monument—a trope he simultaneously reveres and pokes fun at—with a contemporary lens. D’Alvia softens the severe form of the monolith, introducing playfulness and humor, bridging old traditions together with the new to point to the work’s heavy, serious, and darker qualities.

Each sculpture assumes unique human qualities, taking on its own personality—for example, “Sap” is tired and flopped over, and “Loll” is stretched on the floor perhaps in a yoga pose. Introducing heightened color for the first time in his thirty-year practice, D’Alvia coats each work in a different shade of automotive paint, further adding to the humor and personality found in the works, and referencing the work of sculptors like John Chamberlain and George Sugarman. The series began with his 2017 sculpture “Lith”, which is currently on view at Art OMI in upstate New York.

Carl D’Alvia (b. 1965 in Sleepy Hollow, New York) is a sculptor that lives and works in Connecticut and New York. D’Alvia’s post-pop resin, bronze and marble sculptures range from the abstract and geometric to the figurative and anthropomorphic. The work often explores dichotomies such as minimal/ornate, industrial/handmade, and comic/tragic. D’Alvia won the Rome Prize in 2012. He has had numerous solo and group exhibitions internationally including American Academy in Rome, Italy and The Rhode Island School of Design Museum in Providence, Rhode Island.