RAW
Eric Firestone Gallery | 40 Great Jones Street | New York, NY
July 18 – August 30, 2024
RAW
Javier Arce • Samantha Bittman • Willie Cole • John-Drue • Sean Gannon • Huê Thi Hoffmaster • Ces McCully • Acacia Marable • Jason Middlebrook • Jackie Milad • Lily Morris • Armando Nin • Ryan Scails • Elaine Stocki • Kelly Tapia-Chuning • Paul Waters • Jamele Wright, Sr.
Jamele Wright Sr.
Untitled: I remember the sunrise #6, 2023
hand dyed canvas
84 x 48 in.
213.4 x 121.9 cm.
(WRI001)
Eric Firestone Gallery is pleased to announce RAW: a wide-ranging group exhibition of 17 contemporary, inter-generational and multinational artists. The exhibition addresses the theme of rawness in an expansive manner. Some work is painted on unprimed linen or canvas. Other works use raw materials from nature, or incorporate materials of consumer culture without masking their original appearance. Still others utilize the raw geometric building blocks of abstraction, or stylized forms that express specific cultural understandings.
Found materials are the backbone of works by Willie Cole and Jamele Wright, Sr. Willie Cole (b. 1955) has long used consumer items such as high heeled shoes and irons in mixed media sculptures that allude to West African masks and sacred figurative sculptures. His sculpture Malindy is constructed out of found acoustic guitar parts, becoming an abstracted, stylized figure. Jamele Wright, Sr. (b. 1970) creates 3-dimensional textile abstractions that engage with the Black American vernacular experience. His wall-mounted works utilize found materials, Georgia red clay, and Dutch Wax cloth to create a dialogue between family, tradition, and the spiritual and material relationship between Africa and the South.
Ces McCully
Monstre (pink/green), 2024
acrylic paint and acrylic wool on hessian canvas
47 3/8 x 39 1/4 in.
120.3 x 99.7 cm.
(CES001)
Geometry runs through the work of Ces McCully, Samantha Bittman, and Acacia Marable. Ces McCully (b. 1982), an Australian artist now based in Southern France, uses interconnected geometric shapes to create her mask-like paintings. They seamlessly incorporate acrylic wool weaving within their surfaces. The resulting works are both hard and soft, masculine and feminine: meditations on divisions within society. Samantha Bittman (b. 1982) also combines weaving and painting: applying acrylic over handwoven textiles. She explores binaries; the relationship between the handcrafted and the digital is a hallmark of her work. She exploits the optical effects of high value contrast, complementary hues, and small-scale patterning. 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.
Elaine Stocki
Crucifix, 2024
watercolor and graphite on stitched linen with canvas, leather and linen backing
81 x 82 1/2 in.
205.7 x 209.6 cm.
(ESTOCK001)
Raw, unprimed linen is integral in the work of Elaine Stocki, Lily Morris, and Hue Thi Hoffmaster. Elaine Stocki (b. 1979) stains and saturates raw linen, velvet, and denim with pigment, stitching together studio scraps that have been washed and bleached. Evoking feminist art histories in their approach, paint pools across divided areas of linen, concentrating in organic patterns. Lily Morris’s (b. 1987) Mother is a hyper-realist depiction of a ship’s mast, painted in grisaille on raw linen. The drama stems from the point of view: looking at the enormous mast from below, and the startling disconnect between a detailed rendering and the withholding of color. Huê Thi Hoffmaster (b. 1982) creates calligraphic thickets of paint across his unprimed canvases. He depicts flower forms, although they are also stand-ins for figuration. His work oscillates between abstraction and representation, Eastern and Western painting traditions.
Jason Middlebrook
Sow Thistle, 2019
acrylic on elm
108 x 18 x 1 in.
274.3 x 45.7 x 2.5 cm.
(MIDD005)
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 gestures of acrylic paint to the vertical, sculptural 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. His canvases are stretched on irregular repurposed untreated wood sourced from the artist’s countryside environment in Cantabria, Spain.
Armando Nin (b. 1986) “paints” with soot from a candle’s flame which he manipulates to form trails of smoky circles across his compositions. He is inspired by the directness and immediacy of Italian Renaissance fresco painting, in which artists applied pigments onto wet plaster, and worked on ceilings while lying down. Nin also works in this position, suspending his canvases and holding the candle underneath. Decades earlier, artist Paul Waters (b. 1936) adopted a unique technique of cut canvas collage. Painted silhouettes suggesting primordial forms and imaginary animals are arranged and collaged onto canvas supports in rhythmic patterns. Waters exclusively used his hands and fingers to apply paint, rather than brushes. The paintings reflect his interest in African art, indigenous traditions, children’s books, and a playful, intuitive form of communication.
Sean Gannon
The Handcuff, 2024
acrylic on canvas, framed in walnut with two attached found objects (Malina Rope)
120 x 26 x 3 1/2 in.
304.8 x 66 x 8.9 cm.
(SEGA001)
Sean Gannon and John-Drue both utilize raw and direct images and characters in their work. Sean Gannon (b. 1993) who is Chicago-based, connects to the humor of the Chicago Imagists, and also incorporates sculptural elements in his work. A recent series both depicts rope but also extends actual rope off the painting’s edges and into the room. John-Drue (b. 1986) creates molds of gold pans using industrial materials like reinforced glass fibers, gypsum cement, and polymer additives. On these surfaces he depicts archetypal and cartoon characters which function as commentary on societal issues and consumer culture.
Kelly Tapia-Chuning, Jackie Milad, and Ryan Scalis are each involved with issues of decolonization in their work, and, in this sense, unveiling a more raw and honest understanding of history. Jackie Milad’s (b. 1975) Undoing series contends with the history of the British occupation of Egypt, and specifically the practice of unraveling looted mummified human remains. 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. Ryan Scails (b. 1987) uses fiber and found materials in his sculptural installations to comment on pre-colonial technologies, vernacular tools, and physical labor.
The exhibition incorporates a spectrum of different perspectives, with artists speaking from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and aesthetic approaches. It is bound by an emotional force that stems from a direct approach to artmaking.
Acacia Marable
Color Pains #5, 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.
(ACM001)
Acacia Marable
Color Pains #3, 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.
(ACM003)
Acacia Marable
Mixed Feelings #2, 2022
oil and wire on sisal dartboard
19 3/4 x 19 1/2 x 3 1/2 in.
50.2 x 49.5 x 8.9 cm.
(ACM004)
Armando Nin
A crumbled up love letter, 2024
soot on canvas
72 x 60 in.
182.9 x 152.4 cm.
(ARMNI001)
Samantha Bittman
Untitled, 2021
acrylic on handwoven textile
24 x 20 in.
61 x 50.8 cm.
(BITT001)
Samantha Bittman
Untitled, 2023
acrylic on handwoven textile
22 x 22 in.
55.9 x 55.9 cm.
(BITT002)
Samantha Bittman
Untitled, 2024
acrylic on handwoven textile
20 x 16 in.
50.8 x 40.6 cm.
(BITT003)
Ces McCully
Monstre (pink/green), 2024
acrylic paint and acrylic wool on hessian canvas
47 3/8 x 39 1/4 in.
120.3 x 99.7 cm.
(CES001)
Ces McCully
Monstre (Pink/Blue), 2024
oil and acrylic paint, acrylic, cotton, and polyester textiles
79 x 63 in.
200.7 x 160 cm.
(CES005)
Ces McCully
Monstre (Fire), 2024
oil and acrylic paint, acrylic, cotton, and polyester textiles
79 x 63 in.
200.7 x 160 cm.
(CES006)
Elaine Stocki
Crucifix, 2024
watercolor and graphite on stitched linen with canvas, leather and linen backing
81 x 82 1/2 in.
205.7 x 209.6 cm.
(ESTOCK001)
Huê Thi Hoffmaster
I Wish you Bluebirds no. 7, 2024
oil on canvas
82 x 82 in.
208.3 x 208.3 cm.
(HUET046)
Huê Thi Hoffmaster
I Wish you Bluebirds no. 8, 2024
oil on canvas
82 x 82 in.
208.3 x 208.3 cm.
(HUET047)
Jackie Milad
Undoing (Emergence), 2024
acrylic, ink, fringe, gel medium, paper, chiffon, collage on hand-dyed canvas
108 x 72 in.
274.3 x 182.9 cm.
(JACK001)
Javier Arce
Sobre lo cercano (Seco), 2022
oil on linen, oak stretcher
15 x 13 in.
38.1 x 33 cm.
(JAVAR003)
Javier Arce
Sobre lo cercano (burnt brown), 2021
oil on linen, hazel stretcher
12 x 12 in.
30.5 x 30.5 cm.
(JAVAR004)
Javier Arce
Sobre lo cercano (Piel), 2023
oil on linen, eucalyptus stretcher
16 x 14 in.
40.6 x 35.6 cm.
(JAVAR005)
John-Drue
Sluice Juice, 2024
glass fiber reinforced alpha gypsum, graphite
14 x 14 x 6 in.
35.6 x 35.6 x 15.2 cm.
(JDRUE001)
John-Drue
Window Wolf Attic, 2024
glass fiber reinforced alpha gypsum, graphite, india ink
14 x 14 x 6 in.
35.6 x 35.6 x 15.2 cm.
(JDRUE002)
Lily Morris
Mother, 2024
acrylic on linen
80 x 60 in.
203.2 x 152.4 cm.
(LILM001)
Jason Middlebrook
Thirty Six Turns on One Tree, 2015
acrylic on poplar
120 x 22 x 1 1/2 in.
304.8 x 55.9 x 3.8 cm.
(MIDD003)
Jason Middlebrook
Found in a Pine Forest, 2019
acrylic and spray paint on maple
108 x 19 x 1 1/2 in.
274.3 x 48.3 x 3.8 cm.
(MIDD004)
Jason Middlebrook
Sow Thistle, 2019
acrylic on elm
108 x 18 x 1 in.
274.3 x 45.7 x 2.5 cm.
(MIDD005)
Paul Waters
Twelve Birds, 1971
oil on cut linen collage on canvas
34.0h x 35.0w in
87.0h x 89.53w cm
(PWAT250)
Paul Waters
Louise, 1971
oil on cut linen collage on canvas
95.0h x 42.0w in
241.3h x 106.68w cm
(PWAT338)
Ryan Scails
Liquor, 2024
cotton bath towel, Black Walnut dye, hardware
32 x 49 x 1/2 in.
81.3 x 124.5 x 1.3 cm.
(RYSC001)
Ryan Scails
I’ve come back to you, 2024
found fabric, ecopoxy, expanding foam, dowel, brass rod, electrical tape, cable ties, hardware
123 x 10 x 2 1/2 in.
312.4 x 25.4 x 6.3 cm.
(RYSC002)
Sean Gannon
The Handcuff, 2024
acrylic on canvas, framed in walnut with two attached found objects (Malina Rope)
120 x 26 x 3 1/2 in.
304.8 x 66 x 8.9 cm.
(SEGA001)
Kelly Tapia-Chuning
voicing the silenced; we survive you, 2024
dismantled serape, reclaimed coyote skulls from a coyote “dump” site in southern Utah, copper nails, interfacing
70 x 77 x 3 in.
177.8 x 195.6 x 7.6 cm.
(TAPI001)
Kelly Tapia-Chuning
Origin Mother, 2024
dismantled serape, maguey/agave fiber hand-dyed with indigo, copper nails
63 x 71 in.
160 x 180.3 cm.
(TAPI002)
Willie Cole
Malindy, 2024
Yamaha 3/4 size acoustic guitar parts
21 x 12 x 16 in.
53.3 x 30.5 x 40.6 cm.
(WCL008)
Jamele Wright Sr.
Untitled: I remember the sunrise #6, 2023
hand dyed canvas
84 x 48 in.
213.4 x 121.9 cm.
(WRI001)
Jamele Wright Sr.
LEVITATE 5, 2024
mixed media with GA red clay on Dutch wax cloth
70 x 43 in.
177.8 x 109.2 cm.
(WRI002)
Jamele Wright Sr.
LEVITATE 9, 2024
mixed media with GA red clay on Dutch wax cloth
48 x 48 in.
121.9 x 121.9 cm.
(WRI003)
Jamele Wright Sr.
Bundle 2
mixed media with GA red clay, Dutch wax cloth, and found wood
8 x 12 x 3 in.
20.3 x 30.5 x 7.6 cm.
(WRI004)
Jamele Wright Sr.
Bundle 17
mixed media with GA red clay, Dutch wax cloth, and found wood
8 x 8 x 6 in.
20.3 x 20.3 x 15.2 cm.
(WRI005)
Acacia Marable
Color Pains #5, 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.
(ACM001)
Acacia Marable
Color Pains #3, 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.
Acacia Marable
Mixed Feelings #2, 2022
oil and wire on sisal dartboard
19 3/4 x 19 1/2 x 3 1/2 in.
50.2 x 49.5 x 8.9 cm.
(ACM004)
Armando Nin
A crumbled up love letter, 2024
soot on canvas
72 x 60 in.
182.9 x 152.4 cm.
(ARMNI001)
Samantha Bittman
Untitled, 2021
acrylic on handwoven textile
24 x 20 in.
61 x 50.8 cm.
(BITT001)
Samantha Bittman
Untitled, 2023
acrylic on handwoven textile
22 x 22 in.
55.9 x 55.9 cm.
(BITT002)
Samantha Bittman
Untitled, 2024
acrylic on handwoven textile
20 x 16 in.
50.8 x 40.6 cm.
(BITT003)
Ces McCully
Monstre (pink/green), 2024
acrylic paint and acrylic wool on hessian canvas
47 3/8 x 39 1/4 in.
120.3 x 99.7 cm.
(CES001)
Ces McCully
Monstre (Pink/Blue), 2024
oil and acrylic paint, acrylic, cotton, and polyester textiles
79 x 63 in.
200.7 x 160 cm.
(CES005)
Ces McCully
Monstre (Fire), 2024
oil and acrylic paint, acrylic, cotton, and polyester textiles
79 x 63 in.
200.7 x 160 cm.
(CES006)
Elaine Stocki
Crucifix, 2024
watercolor and graphite on stitched linen with canvas, leather and linen backing
81 x 82 1/2 in.
205.7 x 209.6 cm.
(ESTOCK001)
Huê Thi Hoffmaster
I Wish you Bluebirds no. 7, 2024
oil on canvas
82 x 82 in.
208.3 x 208.3 cm.
(HUET046)
Huê Thi Hoffmaster
I Wish you Bluebirds no. 8, 2024
oil on canvas
82 x 82 in.
208.3 x 208.3 cm.
(HUET047)
Jackie Milad
Undoing (Emergence), 2024
acrylic, ink, fringe, gel medium, paper, chiffon, collage on hand-dyed canvas
108 x 72 in.
274.3 x 182.9 cm.
(JACK001)
Javier Arce
Sobre lo cercano (Seco), 2022
oil on linen, oak stretcher
15 x 13 in.
38.1 x 33 cm.
(JAVAR003)
Javier Arce
Sobre lo cercano (burnt brown), 2021
oil on linen, hazel stretcher
12 x 12 in.
30.5 x 30.5 cm.
(JAVAR004)
Javier Arce
Sobre lo cercano (Piel), 2023
oil on linen, eucalyptus stretcher
16 x 14 in.
40.6 x 35.6 cm.
(JAVAR005)
John-Drue
Sluice Juice, 2024
glass fiber reinforced alpha gypsum, graphite
14 x 14 x 6 in.
35.6 x 35.6 x 15.2 cm.
(JDRUE001)
John-Drue
Window Wolf Attic, 2024
glass fiber reinforced alpha gypsum, graphite, india ink
14 x 14 x 6 in.
35.6 x 35.6 x 15.2 cm.
(JDRUE002)
Lily Morris
Mother, 2024
acrylic on linen
80 x 60 in.
203.2 x 152.4 cm.
(LILM001)
Jason Middlebrook
Thirty Six Turns on One Tree, 2015
acrylic on poplar
120 x 22 x 1 1/2 in.
304.8 x 55.9 x 3.8 cm.
(MIDD003)
Jason Middlebrook
Found in a Pine Forest, 2019
acrylic and spray paint on maple
108 x 19 x 1 1/2 in.
274.3 x 48.3 x 3.8 cm.
(MIDD004)
Jason Middlebrook
Sow Thistle, 2019
acrylic on elm
108 x 18 x 1 in.
274.3 x 45.7 x 2.5 cm.
(MIDD005)
Paul Waters
Twelve Birds, 1971
oil on cut linen collage on canvas
34.0h x 35.0w in
87.0h x 89.53w cm
(PWAT250)
Paul Waters
Louise, 1971
oil on cut linen collage on canvas
95.0h x 42.0w in
241.3h x 106.68w cm
(PWAT338)
Ryan Scails
Liquor, 2024
cotton bath towel, Black Walnut dye, hardware
32 x 49 x 1/2 in.
81.3 x 124.5 x 1.3 cm.
(RYSC001)
Ryan Scails
I’ve come back to you, 2024
found fabric, ecopoxy, expanding foam, dowel, brass rod, electrical tape, cable ties, hardware
123 x 10 x 2 1/2 in.
312.4 x 25.4 x 6.3 cm.
(RYSC002)
Sean Gannon
The Handcuff, 2024
acrylic on canvas, framed in walnut with two attached found objects (Malina Rope)
120 x 26 x 3 1/2 in.
304.8 x 66 x 8.9 cm.
(SEGA001)
Kelly Tapia-Chuning
voicing the silenced; we survive you, 2024
dismantled serape, reclaimed coyote skulls from a coyote “dump” site in southern Utah, copper nails, interfacing
70 x 77 x 3 in.
177.8 x 195.6 x 7.6 cm.
(TAPI001)
Kelly Tapia-Chuning
Origin Mother, 2024
dismantled serape, maguey/agave fiber hand-dyed with indigo, copper nails
63 x 71 in.
160 x 180.3 cm.
(TAPI002)
Willie Cole
Malindy, 2024
Yamaha 3/4 size acoustic guitar parts
21 x 12 x 16 in.
53.3 x 30.5 x 40.6 cm.
(WCL008)
Jamele Wright Sr.
Untitled: I remember the sunrise #6, 2023
hand dyed canvas
84 x 48 in.
213.4 x 121.9 cm.
(WRI001)
Jamele Wright Sr.
LEVITATE 5, 2024
mixed media with GA red clay on Dutch wax cloth
70 x 43 in.
177.8 x 109.2 cm.
(WRI002)
Jamele Wright Sr.
LEVITATE 9, 2024
mixed media with GA red clay on Dutch wax cloth
48 x 48 in.
121.9 x 121.9 cm.
(WRI003)
Jamele Wright Sr.
Bundle 2
mixed media with GA red clay, Dutch wax cloth, and found wood
8 x 12 x 3 in.
20.3 x 30.5 x 7.6 cm.
(WRI004)
Jamele Wright Sr.
Bundle 17
mixed media with GA red clay, Dutch wax cloth, and found wood
8 x 8 x 6 in.
20.3 x 20.3 x 15.2 cm.
(WRI005)
RAW
on view through August 30, 2024
Eric Firestone Gallery | 40 Great Jones St | New York, NY