Steven Alles: Beauty, Nerve and Metaphysics

Steven J. Alles is an American-born physician and artist who earned his master’s degree in fine art (1995) and his Bachelor of Science (1997) both from Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) while working for the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Rochester in upstate New York.

His interest in biological sciences and helping people in need led him to complete a Doctor of Medicine degree in 2001 from Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. He moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to work in Internal Medicine at Temple University Hospital, then completed a Preventive Medicine Residency in 2004 at the University of Maryland that included a master’s degree of science specializing in epidemiology.  After residency, Dr. Alles accepted a position at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health as a Medical Epidemiologist in the Division of Disease Control investigating outbreaks of infectious diseases. He was promoted to the Director of the Division in 2017 and worked through the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2023, Dr. Alles resigned from public health service to become a full-time painter and frame maker.  He now rents a studio in Philadelphia creating work in his expressive style with an evolving message of vulnerability, determination and equality. He has a growing international following exhibiting his work in Philadelphia and in Glasgow, Scotland.

Alles will give a talk covering his multi-disciplinary career, titled Beauty, Nerve and Metaphysics: Time-Traveling Drag Queens Addressing Moral Injury, on Thursday, October 29 at 5:00 pm in University Gallery. Free // All Welcome.