Jasper White & Steve Ellis "Caves and Nests”

gallery nine 5

poster for Jasper White & Steve Ellis "Caves and Nests”

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gallery nine5 presents “Caves and Nests,” a collection of new works by Jasper White and Steve Ellis. This will be the first time that the artists are presented together in a single exhibition.

The show is comprised of two distinct but related bodies of work, which explore the spaces that individuals inhabit that serve as a refuge from the rest of the world. Visitors will see Jasper White’s extended “Shed” series in the front room of the gallery, which will be accompanied by a book of the same title to be published in 2013. The back room of the gallery will display two companion pieces by Steve Ellis.

While traveling in Western Victoria, Australia, White discovered an unusual oasis. Rather than gathering at a bar, the local men congregate in their own sheds, which act as a welcome respite after a long workday. It is here, drenched in machismo and memorabilia that men can meet with their friends in comfort and solidarity. Though, as White quickly discovered, no two sheds are alike. Through White’s photographs these spaces are revealed to be an allegorical picture of human individuality.

Gerry Peshke is an obsessive collector. Keys, screws, nails and old perfume bottles – there is little he doesn’t find interesting. He has gold rings on his fingers and toes and brews an excellent beer. Paul is the local wool buyer and his shed is festooned with pictures of scantily clad women. A neighbor’s shed has a sign saying, “No Sheilas allowed.” The only girl allowed into his shed is actually named Sheila, but she’s the owner’s dog.

White captures the intimate spaces with Lambda prints, a process unparalleled in color saturation. The sheds are rendered in staggering vividness and clarity. Through the technical mastery of the photographs, the sheds take on a life outside of their inhabitants. The beauty of these spaces, and the infinite variations found within them, are the focal point. As can be seen in his other series, White is a master of concentrated sociological studies of common rooms and objects.

Steve Ellis pays homage to personal spaces as well. In the tradition of artists choosing their workspaces as muse, Ellis depicts his home in upstate New York and studio in Manhattan through the nesting birds who share these environments with him, and the surrounding landscapes that he can view through the windows.

The painting Barnstorming Swallow depicts a bird Ellis frequently sees making a home and flying around the barn studio. The colors are saturated and bright, full of country bliss. The swallow carries materials to build a nest: a blade of grass, dried wheat and a piece of a Hershey’s Kiss wrapper (an allusion to past series by Ellis). The artist and his wife are reflected in the bird’s eyes underscoring the highly personal nature of this piece. Throughout the landscape we see evidence of his life in the country as well as hints to the politically charged messages that are usually expected from his work. Resting on the back porch is a petition sign from a recent incident of small town politics gone awry.

In past series Ellis has depicted American pop culture iconography often focusing on a single image with near fetishistic focus to stress various issues of contemporary consumerism. With the two stunning pieces in the “Caves and Nests” exhibition, we see Ellis using his technical virtuosity to look internally and explore his own relationship with his surroundings.

Media

Schedule

from September 14, 2012 to October 12, 2012

Opening Reception on 2012-09-13 from 18:00 to 21:00

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