Adam Alessi

Barbati Gallery is pleased to present Adam Alessi’s first exhibition in Italy, Fields. The exhibition takes place in the setting of Palazzo Lezze on Campo Santo Stefano in Venice, where Alessi presents a new body of work created specifically for the gallery’s spaces. Fields responds intimately to the unique architecture of both Palazzo Lezze and the city of Venice.

For this exhibition, Alessi departs from his characteristic use of figuration, exploring a more abstracted, contemplative approach. His works evoke the experience of memory as a construct—something fragile, malleable, and at times incomplete. “The paintings are like the architecture of constructing a thought,” Alessi explains. “I want them to remind someone what it feels like to remember something that maybe never happened.”

Although the works mark a shift from Alessi’s earlier figurative compositions, they maintain a subtle sense of human presence through their atmosphere and emotional resonance. The textured surfaces and quiet tension recall the introspective stillness of interior spaces, hinting at influences such as the psychological depth of Vuillard and Munch or the meditative, light-filled rooms of Hammershøi. Echoes of these artists emerge through Alessi’s exploration of light, shadow, and structure, grounding the works in a deep visual and emotional history.

Light, in particular, plays a pivotal role throughout the series. Created exclusively in daylight, the paintings reflect Alessi’s interest in how shifting natural light transforms their surfaces, emphasizing the passage of time and the transient nature of memory. These paintings serve as blueprints for fragmented recollections, capturing sensations and ideas rather than definitive moments, inviting viewers to engage in a contemplative dialogue with their own reconstructed memories.

Adam Alessi (b. 1994, Los Angeles, USA) is a self-taught painter whose work navigates the surreal territories between fantasy and reality. Alessi’s work has been included in solo and group exhibitions at Karma, New York: Clearing, New York and Los Angeles; Matthew Brown, Los Angeles; ADZ, Portugal; White Columns, New York; Paulina Caspari Gallery, Munich; Galeria mascot, Mexico City; Miles McEnery, New York; Galería Mascota, Mexico City; NADA House with Zoe Fisher Projects, New York; Felix Art Fair with M+B, Los Angeles; House, Berlin; and Public Gallery, London.