Alessandra Acierno's Dark Figurative Paintings Debut at Sea View, Los Angeles
From September 12 to October 24, 2026, Sea View in Los Angeles will host Alessandra Acierno's solo exhibition titled "Everything I See I Swallow." This showcase includes fifteen new works, featuring both small oil paintings and larger canvases that embody a sense of darkness. Born in 1994 in Charleston, South Carolina, Acierno refers to her subjects as "unstable encounters." The exhibition encourages viewers to engage in slow observation, revealing its depth over time. A critic draws parallels to Ad Reinhardt's black paintings, highlighting the need for sustained focus. Acierno's art, which has been compared to Victor Man, delves into themes of motherhood and female adolescence, with small portraits acting as fleeting glimpses, while works like The Disappointment confront notions of intimacy. The title serves as a caution: gaze long enough, and the paintings may consume you.
Key facts
- Alessandra Acierno's solo exhibition "Everything I See I Swallow" is on view at Sea View in Los Angeles from September 12 to October 24, 2026.
- The exhibition features fifteen new paintings, including small oils on board and larger canvases, all dominated by darkness.
- Acierno was born in 1994 in Charleston, South Carolina.
- The show explores themes of unstable encounters, doubling, and female adolescence.
- Key works include The Intruder (2026), Though They Stood Waiting (2026), Marianne, Margaret, Isabella, Ulo's Wife (all 2026), The Disappointment (2026), Poor Intentions (2026), February: A Certain Evening (2026), and Ordinary Circumstances (2026).
- Acierno trained at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Bezalel in Jerusalem, and the Nerdrum School in Norway.
- The exhibition includes homages to Fuseli's Nightmare and Matisse's Bathers with a Turtle.
- The critic compares Acierno's demand for slow looking to Ad Reinhardt's black paintings.
Entities
Artists
- Alessandra Acierno
- Ad Reinhardt
- Victor Man
- Fuseli
- Henri Matisse
- Edvard Munch
- Balthus
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Robert Louis Stevenson
Institutions
- Sea View
- Maryland Institute College of Art
- Bezalel
- Nerdrum School
- Contemporary Art Issue
Locations
- Los Angeles
- United States
- Charleston
- South Carolina
- Jerusalem
- Israel
- Norway