Biography:

Alma Allen was born in 1970 in Heber City, Utah. He began carving at an early age after discovering Indian petroglyph drawings, whose shapes and visual forms of communication fascinated him.

Allen lived in Truth or Consequences, NM, the Virgin Islands, Chicago, and New Orleans before settling in New York City in 1996, where his work was soon collected and exhibited by art & design luminaries.

In 2000, Allen moved to California as he prefers to collect his own raw materials - primarily wood and stone. When deserts, beaches, and mountains were unavailable, Allen carved abandoned furniture pieces in Chicago and broken chunks of sidewalk in New York City. In California, Allen reunited with his childhood sweetheart and current business partner Nancy Pearce. Together they opened “Pearce,” a store showcasing Allen’s work on Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice.

Allen's smaller scale sculptures, (most pieces are under twelve inches), allow him to create a wide variety of different forms - rather like sketches in the material itself. The result is a language all its own. Allen also lends his sculptural sensibilities to functional work - rendering salvaged wood into one-of-a-kind tables, turned stools, and bowls.

In 2005, Allen and Pearce moved to the desert of Joshua Tree, CA so that they would have room to work on a larger scale as well as set up a bronze foundry. Allen designed and built an environmentally friendly house & studio while they lived in a Streamline trailer on the land along with their trusty dog Fritz.  

Allen’s work has appeared frequently in domestic & international press including Dwell, Wallpaper, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Huge, Brutus, and Casa Brutus.

For more information, please visit:
http://www.allenpearce.com


Education: Self-taught

Upcoming Exhibitions:
“Hoodoos by Alma Allen”
Play Mountain, Tokyo Japan
Opening September 19th, 2009
to include the launch of Allen’s new furniture line for Landscape Products in Japan

“Sculpture & Furniture by Alma Allen”
Heath Ceramics, Los Angeles, CA
Opening November 5th 2009

Past exhibitions:
Anthony Greaney Gallery, Boston, MA 2008-09
Play Mountain, Tokyo, Japan  2004-present
Tortoise, Los Angeles, CA  2007-present
De Vera, New York, NY 2003-present
Studio 111, Palm Springs, CA 2006-present
Rose, Venice, CA 2005-06
Pearce, Venice, CA 2002-05
De Vera, New York, NY 2003-present
Blackman Cruz, Los Angeles, CA 2003-05
Japonesque, San Francisco, CA 2002-03
Brooklyn Projects Gallery, Brooklyn, NY 2001
Charles Cowles Gallery, New York, NY 1997-98
Aron Packer Gallery, Chicago, IL  1993-95, 1998
Pierogi 2000 Gallery, Williamsburg, NY 1997
Cordell Taylor Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT 1995
Phillips Gallery, Salt lake City, UT  1990, 1995

Selected design projects:
Landscape Products, Japan: furniture
Heath Ceramics & Commune Design: ceramic and wood canisters
Ace Hotel Palm Springs & Commune Design: bronze lobby door handles as well as stools and tables for rooms
Esprit Europe: housewares including full lines of flatware produced by Wilkins/BSF in Germany