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Brian Calvin Loitering

Jul 12 — Aug 30, 2025 | Gstaad

Opening on Saturday, July 12, 2025 from 6 to 8 pm

Almine Rech Gstaad is pleased to present 'Loitering', Brian Calvin's ninth solo exhibition with the gallery, on view from July 12 to August 30, 2025.

In the long list of writings about painting, there are few phrases as clever and catchy as the one coined by Maurice Denis in 1890. Nowadays, as we stand at the other end of the long and turbulent history of artistic modernity, it deserves to be slightly reformulated in order to align with our customs. But once this has been done, it turns out that it remains strikingly relevant to Brian Calvin's painting. Before being representations of young socialite women, influencers attempting product placement, or generational emblems of an overconnected present, his paintings are first and foremost flat surfaces covered with colours assembled in a certain order. In these gatherings of well-groomed faces, cropped to varying degrees depending on the painting, we seem to recognise an analogy of digital communities. We seem to recognise a pop image from everyday life in a soda can, a T-shirt, or a pair of oversized glasses. But these are red herrings. Brian Calvin likes to emphasise the constructed dimension of images, breaking with the internal logic of painting. And that is the primary purpose of the soda cans, glasses, T-shirts, lipsticks (whose shade and brand we could probably identify), and all the images incorporated into the composition in the form of visual micro-events. Rather than relating the painting to the outside world (Western, industrialised, connected), they open a breach in representation. 'When you work with images, that's people's starting point. It's really hard to look at faces nowadays, especially when they're cropped, and not think about image overload or social media. This interpretation is often applied to my work, and I don't think it's wrong. But it's simply not my starting point; in fact, it's the part of my work that puzzles me the most ,' explains the painter, who is more likely to cite the "icy quality" of Piero della Francesca's paintings as a source of inspiration than the great American pop tradition. 
[...]

— Jill Gasparina, critic and curator

Press release

  • read or download in English

Selected artworks

  • Brian Calvin,                                      Good Night, 2025

    Brian Calvin Good Night, 2025

    Acrylic on linen
    40 x 29.8 cm
    16 x 11 1/2 in

  • Brian Calvin,                                      Summer Gap, 2025

    Brian Calvin Summer Gap, 2025

    Acrylic on linen
    61 x 48.3 cm
    24 x 19 in

  • Brian Calvin,                                      ​​​​​​​The Orbit, 2025

    Brian Calvin ​​​​​​​The Orbit, 2025

    Acrylic on linen
    61 x 48.3 cm
    24 x 19 in

  • Brian Calvin,                                      Candy, 2025

    Brian Calvin Candy, 2025

    Acrylic on linen
    61 x 48.3 cm
    24 x 19 in

  • Brian Calvin,                                      Early Riser, 2025

    Brian Calvin Early Riser, 2025

    Acrylic on linen
    69.8 x 59.7 cm
    27 1/2 x 23 1/2 in

  • Brian Calvin,                                      Midsummer, 2025

    Brian Calvin Midsummer, 2025

    Acrylic on canvas
    137.2 x 101.6 cm
    54 x 40 in

  • Brian Calvin,                                      The Lineup, 2025

    Brian Calvin The Lineup, 2025

    Acrylic on canvas 
    152.4 x 121.9 cm
    60 x 48 in

  • Brian Calvin,                                      Familiar Faces, 2025

    Brian Calvin Familiar Faces, 2025

    Acrylic on canvas 
    152.4 x 121.9 cm
    60 x 48 in

  • Brian Calvin,                                      Blue Moonlight, 2025

    Brian Calvin Blue Moonlight, 2025

    Acrylic on canvas 
    101.6 x 127 cm
    40 x 50 in

  • Brian Calvin,                                      ​​​​​​​Downtown Sun, 2025

    Brian Calvin ​​​​​​​Downtown Sun, 2025

    Acrylic on canvas 
    152.4 x 121.9 cm
    60 x 48 in

  • Brian Calvin,                                      Summer Sun, 2025

    Brian Calvin Summer Sun, 2025

    Pastel on pastel card
    40 x 29.8 cm, 16 x 11 1/2 in (unframed)
    49.5 x 39.5 cm, 19.5 x 15 1/2 in (framed)

  • Brian Calvin,                                      Distant Cousin, 2025

    Brian Calvin Distant Cousin, 2025

    Pastel on paper
    59.5 x 42 cm, 23 1/2 x 16 1/2 in (unframed)
    69 x 51.5 cm, 27 x 20 in (framed)

  • Brian Calvin,                                      Good Evening, 2024

    Brian Calvin Good Evening, 2024

    Pastel on pastel card
    56 x 38 cm, 22 x 15 in (unframed)
    66 x 48 cm, 26 x 18 1/2 in (framed)

  • Brian Calvin,                                      Stars, 2024

    Brian Calvin Stars, 2024

    Pastel on paper
    53.5 x 42 cm, 21 x 16 1/2 in (unframed)
    63 x 51.5 cm, 24 1/2 x 20 in (framed)

  • Brian Calvin,                                      Lilly, 2025

    Brian Calvin Lilly, 2025

    Pastel on paper
    21 x 15 cm, 8 1/2 x 6 in (unframed)
    31 x 24.5 cm, 12 x 9 1/2 in (framed)

  • Brian Calvin,                                      Golden Blue, 2025

    Brian Calvin Golden Blue, 2025

    Pastel on pastel board
    29 x 24 cm, 11 1/2 x 9 1/2 in (unframed)
    38.5 x 33.5 cm, 15 x 13 in (framed)

  • Brian Calvin,                                      Breeze, 2024

    Brian Calvin Breeze, 2024

    Pastel on paper
    28 x 21.6 cm, 11 x 8 1/2 in (unframed)
    37.5 x 31 cm, 14 1/2 x 12 in (framed)

  • Brian Calvin,                                      The Duo, 2024

    Brian Calvin The Duo, 2024

    Acrylic on cotton rag paper
    24.8 x 19 cm, 10 x 7 1/2 in (unframed)
    34.5 x 27.5 cm, 13 1/2 x 11 in (framed)