“New Artist Spotlight” is a recurring editorial series featuring artists who have recently joined Artsy’s roster of gallery partners.
Self-taught French artist Alexis Ralaivao is fascinated by small details. Her oil paintings, whether close-ups of sparkling jewels or cropped portraits of the human figure, exude a palpable sensuality that transforms everyday scenes into cherished moments. A student of The Artsy Vanguard 2022, Ralaivaok draws inspiration from Dutch Golden Age masters such as Johannes Vermeer and Gerard ter Borch, focusing obsessive attention to the details of lived experiences in his genre paintings, which highlight clothing, flesh, glass, metal. , and jewelry.
Now represented by Kasmin, Ralaivao will show two new paintings at the gallery’s presentation at Art Basel Hong Kong from March 26-30. The representation announcement follows Ralaivao’s debut solo exhibition with Kasmin, “On s’enrichit de ce que l’on donne, on s’appauvrit de ce que l’on prend,” at the gallery’s Chelsea location in June 2023.
Focusing on domestic scenes, Ralaivao carefully frames his subjects like a photographer or cinematographer, giving his paintings a sense of drama or tension, and cropping them in a way that invites the viewer to linger on the details. It works similarly Two glasses in a piano (2023), which depicts two shimmering, translucent glasses on a wooden surface, approach inanimate objects with genuine care and attention. Meanwhile, his portraits, like nap (2021), often portray black figures in repose, conveying a simple elegance that gives the human form a dreamlike quality.
In many of his recent works, Ralaivao explores themes of luxury and consumerism, using his expertise in texture and light to explore the materiality and appeal of consumer goods. Close-up of one of her ears with a shiny silver earring, light source (2022), indicates its ability to capture the subtle interaction between object and identity. The work reflects on how these shiny luxury items can be a vector of desire and a symbol of social exclusion.
In a press release, Eric Gleason, Kasmin’s head of sales, said, “Alexis’ painting practice is one of the most authentic, honest and thoughtful I’ve encountered in her generation. His obsession with the history of painting is unceasing, his technical facility is impressive and his commitment to the studio is inspiring.”
Ralaivao, who is 33 years old and lives in his hometown of Rennes, France, first gained a lot of attention in 2021 after contributing to high-profile group sessions, Anat Ebgi’s “Pt. 2: Invasive Species” in Los Angeles and a three-person exhibition at Galerie Hussenot in Paris. Soon after, in 2022, he presented two solo shows: “Glittering Short Stories” at T293 in Rome and “Start with the Truth, End with a Fantasy” at the Bill Brady Gallery in Miami. Ralaivao’s work is in several collections, such as the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Miami, and the Musée des Beaux Arts de Rennes in France.
