BIO
Alison Press paints abstract compositions: landscapes, flowers, and mountain scenes inspired by the lush and dynamic scenery of Western North Carolina, her home since 2019. She employs bold colors and striking shapes by using a variety of paints, oil pastels, and other mixed media. Her recent works include large scale paintings in a series that the artist affectionately refers to as her “Fractured Flowers”.
About her body of work and approach to art making, Alison says “ I paint the forms and use colors that I observe in nature, and then extend it beyond that level of observation; I paint not just what my eyes see, but what I want to be present by exaggeration of values, lines and shapes. I encourage the viewers of my art to imagine along with me, but also fill in their own story to my paintings. Viewing should feel visceral and emotional, as it then continues the raw experience I have each time I take a brush and put a paint stroke on a canvas”.
Alison Press
HELENE RECOVERY
I moved to Asheville in late 2019 and established a working art studio in my home, with plans to move into the River Arts District (RAD) in the near future. Well, the Covid pandemic halted those dreams. I painted in my home studio but longed to be a part of the broader, local artist community. Similar to one I had left in Georgia. Then in April of 2024 I took a linocut printing workshop at the Asheville Print Studio and Gallery in the RAD’s RiverView Station. Learning this new art making skill led me to exhibit at the gallery and also to be in their shared studio space until September of 2024. During those six months I expanded my printmaking skills and portfolio and continued my search for a painting studio space in the RAD. Well, Hurricane Helene put a stop to all of that on Friday September 27, 2024! RAD, RiverView Station and that gallery and studio space all flooded and everything shut down. Dreams, including mine, were shattered.
So after once again having my dreams of a working studio outside my home halted, and not having running water for 53 days, no electricity for 2 weeks, like everyone in WNC I went into survival mode. But hope was on the horizon as I read an article in the local MountainXpress in November about the former Moog Factory building being reimagined as art studio spaces. I had never been inside but knew that large brick exterior as it was in my neighborhood, Five Points. I went to the next information session and learned all about the plans. The vision was ideal- an artist collective with gallery and working spaces. As I walked around and explored, I knew it was the place for my long awaited painting studio with its large windows, old creaky wood floors, steel beams and loft ceilings. Ideal. So, I quickly seized the unique opportunity to be part of this new adventure and quickly signed a lease. I have been happily, and productively creating in studio 2C of Resurrection Studios Collective in Downtown Asheville since the gallery and working artist studio spaces opened in March, 2025!