NYAB Event - Paul Wirhun “When My World Fell Apart”

Paul Wirhun “When My World Fell Apart”

Ivy Brown Gallery

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Paul Wirhun, known as Eggman will be exhibiting his new collages from broken eggshells “When My World Fell Apart” at the Ivy Brown Gallery. This new body of work continues on a series of broken eggshell collages and paintings on found wood, exploring themes of dissolution and recapitulation since his last solo show here in 2005. Addressing very personal themes found in this show, Wirhun notes “One thing I have learned in my studio practice of the past 23 years is that my compositions often presage my life’s events; as though my unconscious erupting in my craziest collages predict the future phenomena.”

Raised in a Ukrainian-American family, Wirhun is known for his work on eggshells, emplying ancient folk craft techniques (a form of batik), mixed with innovative uses of wax line drawing, brush painting, as well as scratching and etching. In 2000, Wirhun began creating collages from broken eggshells; destroying the intensely controlled process of carefully scripted design on the shell and turning studio detritus into stories. Through using broken shells and adhering them to a flat surface plane, he has reconfigured his preconceived worldview by playing in an unknown field of shattered illusions. The effect is a multi-layered composition that expresses deeply held feelings, while sparking the viewer’s imagination through the juxtaposition of color, design and textures.

Paul is pleased to partner with The Faberge Big Egg Hunt, an innovative and engaging fundraising initiative that will see over 250 large egg sculptures-each designed by globally renowned artists, designers and creatives-placed throughout New York City’s five borough’s from April 1st-26th, 2014. HIs egg sculpture can be seen at The Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle. Paul’s creation is called “A New Worldview” “is a theme that I have been pursuing in my studio for many years, using eggshells as the medium. The Big Egg Hunt allowed me the largest manifestation of this theme and use of materials I have successfully used in previous Egg/Art pieces. I have painted topographical images of Planet Earth for over 2 decades, which comes from my love of maps, and the sheer physical beauty of our Earth. I often note that our planet is as fragile as an eggshell, and this representation of the globe on eggs manifests this idea. Eggshell encrusted surfaces also show a potential for things breaking up, adding to the visual statement of the Planets fragility and our need to protect it.