Eli Keszler “Icons”

Mast Books

This event has ended.

Icons is an exhibition by Eli Keszler opening alongside his record release on the 26th of June on LuckyMe.

Using a variety of unusual processes, Keszler layers thousands of points by hand-applying drafting inks and mechanical pen plotters used typically for architectural drawings. This kinetic process intertwines with his primary work as a percussionist and composer. In the Torn Plots series, a precise latticework based on Manhattan’s gridded landscape is distorted, diluted and fragmented when the water-soluble inks are sprayed onto the surface and coated with enamel paint. International Tracing is made of a buildup of tiny marks drawn over the course of several years. Layering tracings of the world’s electrical sockets, they overlap to form a massive pointillistic cloud, depicting a heap of interconnected electricity. Leia Jospé’s photography is featured on the record and in the exhibition. Jospé captures New York as a series of interweaving networks and random happenstances.

Keszler’s music, installations, and visual work have appeared at the Whitney Museum, Lincoln Center, MIT List Center, 67 Ludlow, Victoria & Albert Museum, Sculpture Center, The Kitchen, South London Gallery, Hessel Museum, Harvard’s Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts, Luma-Foundation, Barbican-St. Lukes, Walker Art Center, LAX Art, and MoMA PS1.

He has released solo records for Shelter Press, Empty Editions, ESP-DISK’, PAN and REL Records. Keszler wrote the original score to Dasha Nekrasova’s feature The Scary of Sixty First, which won Best First Feature at the Berlin Film Festival. His other film work includes contributions to Daniel Lopatin’s score for the Safdie Brother’s acclaimed Uncut Gems. As a composer, Keszler’s commissions include: the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra, ICE Ensemble, Brooklyn String Orchestra and So Percussion. He has collaborated with Oneohtrix Point Never, Skrillex, Laurel Halo, Kevin Beasley, Rashad Becker, Tony Conrad, Jandek, Laure Prouvost, and David Grubbs among others.