Alright Alright Alright
Eric Firestone Gallery | 4 Newtown Lane | East Hampton, NY
August 2 – September 22, 2024
Alright Alright Alright
Basie Allen • Cassandra Mayela Allen • Javier Arce • Ellsworth Ausby • Kadar Brock • Kelsey Brookes • Liz Collins • Lauren dela Roche • Uday Dhar • Marcus Manganni • Jason Middlebook • Acacia Mirable • Maynard Monrow • James Morse • Armando Nin • Jeanne Reynal • Patrick Siler • Bruce M. Sherman • Alex Stern • Kelly Tapia-Chuning • Rob Wynne • Nina Yankowitz
Eric Firestone Gallery is pleased to announce Alright Alright Alright, an exhibition reflecting themes of eternal optimism in a complex world with exuberant combinations of color, pattern, geometry, and a host of materials, including ceramic, painting, textile, glass, and found wood. The exhibition includes a cross-generational group of artists who speak from a variety of perspectives and identities.
Alexander Stern
Star (Blue David), 2022–23
acrylic, oil, and silver leaf on linen
80 x 77 in.
203.2 x 195.6 cm.
(STERN002)
Geometry and pattern runs through the work of artists Acacia Mirable, Liz Collins, Marcus Magnanni, Kelsey Brookes, Alex Stern, and Ellsworth Ausby. Acacia Marable (b. 1988) paints on dart boards: adding oil paint and wire to the sisal surfaces which have their own inherent geometry. The broad areas of color become a way to investigate racial experiences, and the dart board a symbol used to explore ideas of perfection and violence. Liz Collins (b. 1968) is a multimedia artist specializing in textiles and fiber. Her work employs a vibrant color spectrum that incorporates queer feminist sensibilities as well as references to twentieth-century abstraction, the Pattern and Decoration and Op Art movements. Marcus Manganni is a sculptor who uses vocabularies of minimalism, light, and space to confront themes of confinement and liberation. The sculptures reflect lived experience with the carceral system. Kelsey Brookes (b. 1978) is a former scientist whose work is informed by research into mathematical and scientific concepts, along with his studies of natural and synthetic hallucinogens. He reimagines molecular processes as tactile large-scale abstractions. Alex Stern (b. 1987) utilizes the shape of the star of David as a way to both take ownership of a significant symbol but also to disassemble and question it through abstraction. Ellsworth Ausby (1942–2011) was dedicated to reflecting a deeply rooted African aesthetic and cultural heritage, responding to the geometry of ancient Egyptian art. In the 1970s, Ausby made unstretched canvases that were attached directly to the wall, utilizing high-keyed color and suggesting sonic rhythms.
Jason Middlebrook
Sunset Cliffs, 2022
acrylic on Curly Maple
38 x 40 x 2 1/2 in.
96.5 x 101.6 x 6.3 cm.
(MIDD008)
Environmental concerns and eco-theory is central to the work of Jason Middlebrook, Javier Arce, James Morse, Lauren dela Roche, and Basie Allen. Jason Middlebrook and Javier Arce both incorporate untreated wood, sourced from their environments. After relocating from Brooklyn to Columbia County in upstate New York, Jason Middlebrook (b. 1966) began sourcing milled indigenous trees—curly maple, oak, walnut, elm and ash. Adding acrylic paint to the shaped slabs, he leaves the natural grain of wood visible, positioning himself and his interventions as that of a visitor in a long natural history. Javier Arce’s (b. 1973) oil paintings depict vivid natural scenes of trees and blooming wildflowers, inspired by the eco-fiction of Richard Powers and the philosophy of Michael Marder. His canvases are stretched on irregular repurposed untreated wood sourced from the artist’s countryside environment in Cantabria, Spain. Lauren dela Roche (b. 1983) paints a repeating woman across her surfaces to symbolize Mother Nature, the constant process of growth, destruction, and renewal, and ecological ideas about rewilding and regeneration. James Morse (b. 1982) makes symbolic landscape paintings to explore human emotions that arise from interactions with spaces like clear, open fields, or lakes enclosed by trees. A new body of work by Basie Allen (b. 1989) imagines a feral space between the uncertainty of nature and the inevitability of cities. The artist balances organic movement with the grid, signifying the rigidity of our urban spaces. Allen paints his gestural abstractions onto camping tarps before transferring the images onto muslin and linen.
Basie Allen
Untitled (Amalgamated #1), 2024
acrylic, oil pastel, tarp transfer, muslin and linen, mounted on canvas, artist frame
46 x 49 in.
116.8 x 124.5 cm.
(BASIE004)
The work of Uday Dhar, Cassandra Mayela Allen, and Kelly Tapia-Chuning explores themes of immigration, migration, and displacement. Kelly Tapia-Chuning (b. 1997) is a mixed Xicana artist of Indigenous descent. Her recent body of work appropriates Mexican serapes, which in the post-revolutionary period were symbolic of homogenous national identity. The artist deconstructs these textiles by removing areas of weft, a process which she sees as an act of decolonization. The resulting cloth, made thinner and more fragile, is stretched out on the wall. Uday Dhar (b. 1957) was born in England and raised in India before immigrating to the United States. The artist’s hybrid identity, as American, South Asian, and queer, has influenced Dhar’s interest in the tension between self-expression and cultural heritage. Dhar’s ongoing series American Portraits of the Zeitgeist emerged from the chaos of the pandemic and evolved into a dialogue around immigration policies. His “cubist” style is a metaphor for discrete pieces of the artist fitted together, functioning as a whole. Cassandra Mayela Allen (b. 1989) creates installational textile works that convey her own experience of forced migration from Venezuela as well as the larger migrant crisis. Her Maps of Displacement series is woven from clothing formerly worn by Venezuelan migrants. In addition, with each item that is donated, Mayela Allen interviews the donor to trace their experience of displacement.
Armando Nin
An Open Grand Piano, 2024
soot on canvas
64 x 52 in.
162.6 x 132.1 cm.
(ARMNI004)
An exploration of the occult and mysticism informs the work of Kadar Brock; ritualistic process and intuitive automatism also characterizes the work of Armando Nin and Jeanne Reynal. In recent years, Kadar Brock (b. 1980) has researched a new age cult known as The Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness (MSIA), and examined his upbringing within the cult’s teachings and community. Through a repeated system of painting, sanding, priming and scraping, Brock’s paintings explore the construction of identity. Armando Nin (b. 1986) “paints” with soot from a candle’s flame which he manipulates to form trails of smoky circles across his compositions. Several decades earlier, the artist Jeanne Reynal (1903–1993) applied ideas of automatism and chance to the unlikely medium of mosaic, creating works defined by biomorphic forms and overall compositions reflecting light and suggesting earth’s topographies.
Bruce M. Sherman
Eye-con, 2023
ceramic
21 1/4 x 16 1/4 x 19 in.
54 x 41.3 x 48.3 cm.
(BSHER001)
Patrick Siler, Rob Wynne, Maynard Monrow, and Bruce Sherman all embrace humor, play, and a “rule-breaking” approach in their work; Nina Yankowitz has long used her work to disrupt societal assumptions and challenge histories that negate women’s accomplishments. Patrick Siler (b. 1939) is a ceramic artist whose work blends wit, technical experimentation, and the iconography of Americana. The artist found his voice in the Bay Area funk scene of the late 1960s. He expanded the traditional form of plates into expressive, large-scale surfaces, and used stencils to add irreverent symbols of pop culture. In her 1970s Draped and Pleated Paintings, Nina Yankowitz (b. 1946) introduced principles from the Feminist Art Movement into her practice. She incorporated sewing, pleating, and other handicraft techniques maligned as feminine into her painterly process—challenging the notion of “women’s work.” Breaking the rules of glassblowing, Rob Wynne (b. 1948) demonstrates its malleability, shaping it into text pieces to alter meaning and suggest narratives. Maynard Monrow also makes text-based work with socio-political content and a witty attitude. His sculptures are rendered in readymade industrial formats, like cafe menu boards and stanchions signs. Bruce M. Sherman (b. 1942) is a ceramic artist who combines elements of figuration and abstraction in whimsical anthropomorphic sculptures. Sherman’s hand-thrown work joins flat planes and cylinders with stylized faces and disembodied expressions, maintaining a delicate balance between humor and reverence; surrealism and tradition; function and beauty.
Acacia Marable
Color Pains #7, 2023
oil and wire on sisal dartboard
17 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 2 in.
44.5 x 44.5 x 5.1 cm.
(ACM008)
Acacia Marable
Color Pains #8, 2023
oil and wire on sisal dartboard
17 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 2 in.
44.5 x 44.5 x 5.1 cm.
(ACM009)
Acacia Marable
Color Pains #2, 2023
oil and wire on sisal dartboard
17 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 2 in.
44.5 x 44.5 x 5.1 cm.
(ACM007)
Armando Nin
An Open Grand Piano, 2024
soot on canvas
64 x 52 in.
162.6 x 132.1 cm.
(ARMNI004)
Basie Allen
Untilted (Amalgamated #2-wide), 2024
acrylic, oil pastel, tarp transfer, on muslin and linen, mounted on canvas, artist frame
52 x 50 in.
132.1 x 127 cm.
(BASIE003)
Basie Allen
Untitled (Amalgamated #1), 2024
acrylic, oil pastel, tarp transfer, muslin and linen, mounted on canvas, artist frame
46 x 49 in.
116.8 x 124.5 cm.
(BASIE004)
Bruce M. Sherman
Eye-con, 2023
ceramic
21 1/4 x 16 1/4 x 19 in.
54 x 41.3 x 48.3 cm.
(BSHER001)
Bruce M. Sherman
Inner Life, 2017
ceramic
23 x 11 1/2 x 6 in.
58.4 x 29.2 x 15.2 cm.
(BSHER002)
Bruce M. Sherman
Receptive, 2017
ceramic
23 x 21 3/4 x 6 in.
58.4 x 55.2 x 15.2 cm.
(BSHER003)
Bruce M. Sherman
Arp on a Rock #23, 2016
ceramic, metal, found rock
8 1/2 x 6 x 3 1/2 in.
21.6 x 15.2 x 8.9 cm.
(BSHER005)
Bruce M. Sherman
Arp on a Rock #32, 2016
ceramic, metal, found rock
15 3/4 x 7 1/2 x 5 in.
40 x 19.1 x 12.7 cm.
(BSHER009)
Bruce M. Sherman
Arp on a Rock #35, 2016
ceramic, metal, found rock
15 1/2 x 12 x 8 1/2 in.
39.4 x 30.5 x 21.6 cm.
(BSHER010)
Bruce M. Sherman
Arp on a Rock #42, 2024
ceramic, metal, found rock
28 x 11 1/2 x 8 in.
71.1 x 29.2 x 20.3 cm.
(BSHER014)
Bruce M. Sherman
HORSE and rider, 2016
ceramic
21 1/4 x 21 x 4 in.
54 x 53.3 x 10.2 cm.
(BSHER013)
Bruce M. Sherman
Wall Pic II, 2022
ceramic
17 x 14 1/2 x 1 1/2 in.
43.2 x 36.8 x 3.8 cm.
(BSHER015)
Cassandra Mayela Allen
Maps of Displacement: East Coast, 2022
collected and repurposed, woven clothing
123 x 94 in.
312.4 x 238.8 cm.
(CAMA001)
Uday Dhar
American Portraits from the Zeitgeist Series - I am what I am (Blondie), 2024
gouache and ink on paper mounted on board
28 x 22 in.
71.1 x 55.9 cm.
(DHAR085)
Ellsworth Ausby
1942-2011
Untitled, 1971
acrylic on canvas
72.0h x 104.0w in
182.88h x 264.16w cm
(EAUS019)
James Morse
The Threadwarp Forest, 2024
oil on linen
44 x 48 in.
111.8 x 121.9 cm.
(JAMO002)
Javier Arce
Sobre lo cercano (Fatsia japonica), 2024
oil on canvas, sweetgum natural stretcher
13 1/2 x 11 3/4 in.
34 x 30 cm.
(JAVAR001)
Jeanne Reynal
Yellow Blue, 1962
smalti and pigmented cement on wood
72.0h x 28.0w in
182.88h x 71.12w cm
(JREY002)
Kadar Brock
photo finish, in your hat, drama, deep calm, 2022–24
oil on canvas
24 x 20 in.
61 x 50.8 cm.
(KADA001)
Kadar Brock
guts the wanderer, guts by the sea, the artist’s hand paints the world, the egg of the king, i wish i was albert oehlen, 2018
oil, acrylic, flashe, house paint, and spray paint on canvas
72 x 96 in.
182.9 x 243.8 cm.
(KADA003)
Kelsey Brookes
Red Stack, 2022
cut and sewn Indian tapestries mounted on shaped strainer bars
60 x 39 in.
152.4 x 99.1 cm.
(KBR080)
Kelsey Brookes
Orange Stack, 2022
cut and sewn Indian tapestries mounted on strainer bars
49 x 32 in.
124.5 x 81.3 cm.
(KBR085)
Lauren dela Roche
Split the Baby, 2023
acrylic on found cotton feedsack with acrylic varnish
68 x 38 in.
172.7 x 96.5 cm.
(LDRO023)
Liz Collins
Sun, 2022
silk, linen, and wood
61 1/2 x 54 1/2 x 2 1/2 in.
156.2 x 138.4 x 6.3 cm.
(LIZ001)
Marcus Manganni
RACKS (A), 2024
cast acrylic with metal exoskeleton
63 1/2 x 64 1/2 x 50 in.
161.3 x 163.8 x 127 cm.
(MAMAN002)
Maynard Monrow
When In Doubt Make Fucking Believe, Ed. of 4, 2018
Black Bronze
18.0h x 12.0w in
44.45h x 30.48w cm
(MAMO003)
Jason Middlebrook
Sunset Cliffs, 2022
acrylic on Curly Maple
38 x 40 x 2 1/2 in.
96.5 x 101.6 x 6.3 cm.
(MIDD008)
Jason Middlebrook
Drawing Time, 2016
automotive spray paint on maple
32 x 31 in.
81.3 x 78.7 cm.
(MIDD006)
Jason Middlebrook
22 White Paintings, 2016
acrylic and spray paint on Butternut
98 x 18 x 1 1/2 in.
248.9 x 45.7 x 3.8 cm.
(MIDD009)
Jason Middlebrook
Never Trying to Repeat Myself, 2019
acrylic and spray paint on Maple
109 x 22 x 1 in.
276.9 x 55.9 x 2.5 cm.
(MIDD010)
Jason Middlebrook
A Thousand Years and Counting (Larix Decidua), 2021
acrylic on Oak
96 x 20 1/4 x 1 1/4 in.
243.8 x 51.4 x 3.2 cm.
(MIDD011)
Nina Yankowitz
Diagonal Draped, 1968
acrylic spray with compressor on canvas
79.0h x 69.0w in
200.66h x 175.26w cm
(NYAN017)
Patrick Siler
Jiggy Jaggy Baseball, 1978
fired clay, vitreous slips, cut paper stencils
19 x 24 x 2 in.
48.3 x 61 x 5.1 cm.
(PAT003)
Alexander Stern
Star (Black David), 2019–23
acrylic and oil on canvas
64 x 55 in.
162.6 x 139.7 cm.
(STERN001)
Alexander Stern
Star (Blue David), 2022–23
acrylic, oil, and silver leaf on linen
60 x 55 in.
152.4 x 139.7 cm.
(STERN002)
Kelly Tapia-Chuning
what was lost, found (lo que se perdió, se encontró), 2023
dismantled serape (Mexican blanket), found coyote skull from Utah, copper nails
80 x 11 x 3 in.
203.2 x 27.9 x 7.6 cm.
(TAPI003)
Acacia Marable
Color Pains #7, 2023
oil and wire on sisal dartboard
17 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 2 in.
44.5 x 44.5 x 5.1 cm.
(ACM008)
Acacia Marable
Color Pains #2, 2023
oil and wire on sisal dartboard
17 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 2 in.
44.5 x 44.5 x 5.1 cm.
(ACM007)
Acacia Marable
Color Pains #8, 2023
oil and wire on sisal dartboard
17 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 2 in.
44.5 x 44.5 x 5.1 cm.
(ACM009)
Armando Nin
An Open Grand Piano, 2024
soot on canvas
64 x 52 in.
162.6 x 132.1 cm.
(ARMNI004)
Basie Allen
Untilted (Amalgamated #2-wide), 2024
acrylic, oil pastel, tarp transfer, on muslin and linen, mounted on canvas, artist frame
52 x 50 in.
132.1 x 127 cm.
(BASIE003)
Basie Allen
Untitled (Amalgamated #1), 2024
acrylic, oil pastel, tarp transfer, muslin and linen, mounted on canvas, artist frame
46 x 49 in.
116.8 x 124.5 cm.
(BASIE004)
Bruce M. Sherman
Eye-con, 2023
ceramic
21 1/4 x 16 1/4 x 19 in.
54 x 41.3 x 48.3 cm.
(BSHER001)
Bruce M. Sherman
Inner Life, 2017
ceramic
23 x 11 1/2 x 6 in.
58.4 x 29.2 x 15.2 cm.
(BSHER002)
Bruce M. Sherman
Receptive, 2017
ceramic
23 x 21 3/4 x 6 in.
58.4 x 55.2 x 15.2 cm.
(BSHER003)
Bruce M. Sherman
Arp on a Rock #23, 2016
ceramic, metal, found rock
8 1/2 x 6 x 3 1/2 in.
21.6 x 15.2 x 8.9 cm.
(BSHER005)
Bruce M. Sherman
Arp on a Rock #32, 2016
ceramic, metal, found rock
15 3/4 x 7 1/2 x 5 in.
40 x 19.1 x 12.7 cm.
(BSHER009)
Bruce M. Sherman
Arp on a Rock #32, 2016
ceramic, metal, found rock
15 3/4 x 7 1/2 x 5 in.
40 x 19.1 x 12.7 cm.
(BSHER009)
Bruce M. Sherman
Arp on a Rock #35, 2016
ceramic, metal, found rock
15 1/2 x 12 x 8 1/2 in.
39.4 x 30.5 x 21.6 cm.
(BSHER010)
Bruce M. Sherman
Arp on a Rock #42, 2024
ceramic, metal, found rock
28 x 11 1/2 x 8 in.
71.1 x 29.2 x 20.3 cm.
(BSHER014)
Bruce M. Sherman
HORSE and rider, 2016
ceramic
21 1/4 x 21 x 4 in.
54 x 53.3 x 10.2 cm.
(BSHER013)
Bruce M. Sherman
Wall Pic II, 2022
ceramic
17 x 14 1/2 x 1 1/2 in.
43.2 x 36.8 x 3.8 cm.
(BSHER015)
Cassandra Mayela Allen
Maps of Displacement: East Coast, 2022
collected and repurposed, woven clothing
123 x 94 in.
312.4 x 238.8 cm.
(CAMA001)
Uday Dhar
American Portraits from the Zeitgeist Series - I am what I am (Blondie), 2024
gouache and ink on paper mounted on board
28 x 22 in.
71.1 x 55.9 cm.
(DHAR085)
Ellsworth Ausby
Untitled, 1971
acrylic on canvas
72.0h x 104.0w in
182.88h x 264.16w cm
(EAUS019)
James Morse
The Threadwarp Forest, 2024
oil on linen
44 x 48 in.
111.8 x 121.9 cm.
(JAMO002)
Javier Arce
Sobre lo cercano (Fatsia japonica), 2024
oil on canvas, sweetgum natural stretcher
13 1/2 x 11 3/4 in.
34 x 30 cm.
(JAVAR001)
Jeanne Reynal
1903-1993
Yellow Blue, 1962
smalti and pigmented cement on wood
72.0h x 28.0w in
182.88h x 71.12w cm
(JREY002)
Kadar Brock
photo finish, in your hat, drama, deep calm, 2022–24
oil on canvas
24 x 20 in.
61 x 50.8 cm.
(KADA001)
Kadar Brock
guts the wanderer, guts by the sea, the artist’s hand paints the world, the egg of the king, i wish i was albert oehlen, 2018
oil, acrylic, flashe, house paint, and spray paint on canvas
72 x 96 in.
182.9 x 243.8 cm.
(KADA003)
Kelsey Brookes
Red Stack, 2022
cut and sewn Indian tapestries mounted on shaped strainer bars
60 x 39 in.
152.4 x 99.1 cm.
(KBR080)
Kelsey Brookes
Orange Stack, 2022
cut and sewn Indian tapestries mounted on strainer bars
49 x 32 in.
124.5 x 81.3 cm.
(KBR085)
Lauren dela Roche
Split the Baby, 2023
acrylic on found cotton feedsack with acrylic varnish
68 x 38 in.
172.7 x 96.5 cm.
(LDRO023)
Liz Collins
Sun, 2022
silk, linen, and wood
61 1/2 x 54 1/2 x 2 1/2 in.
156.2 x 138.4 x 6.3 cm.
(LIZ001)
Marcus Manganni
RACKS (A), 2024
cast acrylic with metal exoskeleton
63 1/2 x 64 1/2 x 50 in.
161.3 x 163.8 x 127 cm.
(MAMAN002)
Maynard Monrow
When In Doubt Make Fucking Believe, Ed. of 4, 2018
Black Bronze
18.0h x 12.0w in
44.45h x 30.48w cm
(MAMO003)
Jason Middlebrook
Sunset Cliffs, 2022
acrylic on Curly Maple
38 x 40 x 2 1/2 in.
96.5 x 101.6 x 6.3 cm.
(MIDD008)
Jason Middlebrook
Drawing Time, 2016
automotive spray paint on maple
32 x 31 in.
81.3 x 78.7 cm.
(MIDD006)
Jason Middlebrook
22 White Paintings, 2016
acrylic and spray paint on Butternut
98 x 18 x 1 1/2 in.
248.9 x 45.7 x 3.8 cm.
(MIDD009)
Jason Middlebrook
Never Trying to Repeat Myself, 2019
acrylic and spray paint on Maple
109 x 22 x 1 in.
276.9 x 55.9 x 2.5 cm.
(MIDD010)
Jason Middlebrook
A Thousand Years and Counting (Larix Decidua), 2021
acrylic on Oak
96 x 20 1/4 x 1 1/4 in.
243.8 x 51.4 x 3.2 cm.
(MIDD011)
Nina Yankowitz
Diagonal Draped, 1968
acrylic spray with compressor on canvas
79.0h x 69.0w in
200.66h x 175.26w cm
(NYAN017)
Patrick Siler
Jiggy Jaggy Baseball, 1978
fired clay, vitreous slips, cut paper stencils
19 x 24 x 2 in.
48.3 x 61 x 5.1 cm.
(PAT003)
Alexander Stern
Star (Black David), 2019–23
acrylic and oil on canvas
64 x 55 in.
162.6 x 139.7 cm.
(STERN001)
Alexander Stern
Star (Blue David), 2022–23
acrylic, oil, and silver leaf on linen
60 x 55 in.
152.4 x 139.7 cm.
(STERN002)
Kelly Tapia-Chuning
what was lost, found (lo que se perdió, se encontró), 2023
dismantled serape (Mexican blanket), found coyote skull from Utah, copper nails
80 x 11 x 3 in.
203.2 x 27.9 x 7.6 cm.
(TAPI003)
Alright Alright Alright
on view through September 22, 2024
Eric Firestone Gallery | 4 Newtown Lane | East Hampton, NY