Gustave Carlson: New American Stillness

Gustave Carlson, “Perry Hill Screened Porch”, 2026 acrylic and graphite on wood panel, 18″ x 24″, photo courtesy of the artist

“New American Stillness” by Gustave Carlson explores the quiet psychological presence of the contemporary American landscape. Focusing on ordinary architecture—coastal houses, open lawns, interiors, still lifes, and expansive skies—these paintings place absence at the center of experience. Rather than narrative, Carlson emphasizes observation, structure, and atmosphere. Buildings act as anchors within broad fields of light and color, suggesting both stability and solitude. Subtle tonal shifts allow spaces to feel at once specific and timeless, inviting viewers to consider how shadow, memory, and perception shape place. While Edward Hopper often conveys psychological isolation and Fairfield Porter captures domestic intimacy, Carlson draws from both to explore architecture as a perceptual construct rather than a narrative stage. In these restrained scenes, stillness is not emptiness but presence—an invitation to look longer and see more. His work suggests that the contemporary American landscape, when closely observed, continues to offer moments of quiet depth and reflection.

Bio:
Gustave Carlson is an architect and principal of Gustave Carlson Design in Berkeley, California, and a painter exploring the quiet tension between architecture, light, and lived space. He is the author of Pacific Modern Houses of Northern California (ORO Editions, 2018), a widely acclaimed survey of regional modernism. His award-winning architectural work has received international recognition and appears in Elle Decor, Dwell, Wallpaper, The New York Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Carlson holds a Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and studied painting there under Color Field painter Adele Alsop. He has attended residencies at Edgewood Farm at Castle Hill in Truro, Massachusetts, and Studio Faire in Nérac, France. His paintings have earned honors including Best in Show at the Greenwich Art Society and have been exhibited at the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Castle Hill Center for the Arts, Tiburon Library Gallery, Greenwich Art Society, and Mercury 20 Gallery. His work is held in private collections.

Gallery Hours: Friday and Saturday, 12 – 5 pm (and by appointment)
Artists’ Reception and Talk: Saturday, May 16, 3 – 5 pm
Oakland Art Murmur / First Friday: Friday, June 5, 5 – 9 pm