Alf, who died in 2019, was known for toilet paper roll paintings. (photo courtesy of Martha Alf Foundation)

The Martha Alf Foundation announced its establishment to honor the legacy of the late Martha Alf, the nationally celebrated, Los Angeles-based artist best known for toilet paper roll or “cylinder” paintings and pastel drawings of pears.

Alf, who died in 2019 after a more than five-decade career, earned her Master of Fine Arts at the University of California, Los Angeles, under the tutelage of William Brice, Richard Diebenkorn and Lee Mullican. Her work was included in the 1975 Whitney Biennial and was represented by Newspace Gallery in Los Angeles for more than a decade, as well as Jan Baum Gallery.

Alf has exhibited nationally and her work is collected by major institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, Portland Art Museum, San Diego Museum of Art, Santa Barbara Museum of Art and San Jose Museum of Art, as well as numerous private collections.

Kohn Gallery in Los Angeles is representing the Estate of Martha Alf and opened an exhibition of her works on March 5. The show features early landscapes, portraiture and still life.

“We are thrilled and honored to represent the works of Martha Alf in our gallery and in art fairs around the world,” gallery owner Michael Kohn said. “From the irreverence of Pop to the monolith of minimalism, Alf embodies wide-ranging influences in an utterly emotive and beautiful manner, and this work is now ripe for rediscovery.”

For information, visit marthaalffoundation.com.