David Ahlsted is a realist painter who has lived and worked near the Atlantic Ocean in Southern New Jersey since 1976. He describes his work very succinctly by saying it is "content plus geometry, color, light and shadow". With his representations of still - life, nautical and industrial scenes, and beach scenes Ahlsted thoughtfully explores abstraction, contrasts and sculptural elements in the everyday.

He received his MFA from Indiana University and presently, he is a tenured Professor of Arts at the Richard Stockton College of NJ. Ahlsted is credited with numerous solo exhibitions throughout the eastern United States, including major exhibitions in Philadelphia and New York City. He has participated in over 60 group exhibitions, including the New Jersey Arts Annual, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Aldrich Museum, and the Museum of the City of New York. In addition, he has completed two commissioned public art projects – six large scale paintings for the New Jersey State House Annex and seven large scale paintings for Rutgers University. His work is in the permanent collections of the Aldrich Museum, Glen Mede Trust, Master Card Corp., Noyes Museum, PepsiCo, Inc., Pew Charitable Trust and Rutgers University.  His work is represented by Gross McCleaf Gallery in Philadelphia.