Press Release
Gobstopper Gallery Presents
Live From The Deep End
August 24th - September 30th
Alyssa Klauer Benjamin Murphy Christian Perdix Matthew Marshall
Autumn Wallace Calvin Pressley Lizzy Lunday Nicholas Burns
Bianca Fields Chelsea Bonham Loren Erdrich Rhiannon Salisbury
BIlly Bagilhole Christian Mickovic Matt Macken Uéslei Fagundes
Curated by Nicholas Burns
Gobstopper Gallery is proud to open its virtual doors with its first online exhibition presenting sixteen contemporary artists spanning from The United States to Germany and from The United Kingdom to Brazil. Gobstopper started as an outlet to promote up-and-coming artists as well as those further established with the goal of highlighting work from all stages in one’s career and to bring unique and exciting opportunities forward especially amidst the unprecedented times we are currently in. Live From The Deep End investigates the internalization of the artist and how identity and anxiety can be individually felt as well as collectively addressed. In a turbulent year where life as we know it has been halted and jostled with, this exhibition aims to portray the various ways in which our interactions with each other and the world around us can be viewed, consumed, and mediated.
In late August, with the cool breeze of autumn drawing near, there is an obvious uneasiness as we approach the threshold of another month in a year that has been plagued by dark waves of cultural and global unrest. In a time where the focus on the political and personal pitfalls of our world can feel overtaken by the frivolous headrush of cannonballs in cool blue pools and the wanderlust of vacationers venturing away from their usual settings, this summer, and this year feels different. A call to action perhaps, to turn up the volume on the radios of self reflection and fight to find a way to keep one's head above water. Except there are no life rafts, no easy ways out, but instead; there are undercurrents that continue to create an upheaval of control. This feeling is one of struggle which does not simply surround the negative connotations of our existence but also presents opportunities for adaptation, for understanding, and for maneuvering through the rough waters to reach the shore safely again. Shifting landscapes and characters wrestling to find the levity in their overwhelming realities are just a few glimpses into the environment in which this exhibition resides. Like a newscaster reporting live from the deep end, the work joins the frenetic state of the artist and the necessity to carry on however possible. There is a duality to the work that blends this agitation while presenting an optimistic resolve.
The dichotomy between the uncontrollable feeling of chaos and the calm it takes to prevail is extremely evident in Autumn Wallace’s drawing, “What’s that saying about styx and stones again?”. A nude figure holds a pose, eyes locked with the viewer while atop a bucking horse. Another more humorous example of this motif is seen in the work of Bianca Fields. Her gooped on paint visually brings an excessiveness to interact with the caricatured characters she is depicting like gorillas calling home and a man painfully aware of a fish who has latched onto his finger. In a more muted setting, Ueslei Fagundes depicts imagined landscapes in which his figures are searching for solace in old books and in the revival of obsolete gadgets. The introspective quality of his paintings echo the necessity for activity as the ennui of a months long quarantine sets in. Elsewhere in the exhibition is a collection of frenetic and anxious portraits coming from Matthew Marshall, Lizzy Lunday, and Calvin Pressley. In the former two artists’ work, there is a wonderful additive and reductive quality to their mark making giving the work a tension that equally is addressed in the stoic and at times ominous expressions. In Pressley’s work the figures interact with the environment around them and bring a raw and candid portrayal of the artist himself. Loren Erdrich’s isolation drawings also present another individualized experience as her figures are cathartic and resounding just as Billy Bagilhole’s work purveys nostalgia and longing. In Matt Macken’s Blow, an amorphous figure reminiscent of Francis Bacon’s oeuvre is set inside a built-up pink background giving an voyeuristic intimacy to the painting. Rhiannon Salisbury similarly presents a sense of unnerving figuration in Midas, where a bangle clad subject, face obfuscated crouches into the space.
Live From The Deep End gathers the unique interactions the artists and their work have with the world around them especially as it pertains to the internalization of one’s insecurities and reserves in life. In the song, Dining With My Head at the Table, by Franny London the singer expresses her distress in understanding the complexity of a relationship as she voices her regrets. The painting Entree by Nicholas Burns riffs off the London song by presenting a macabre self portrait where he serves his own head to a dinner party of ghouls and demons. Sometimes the figures and environments presented are simply being overtaken by the very space they are inhabiting like in Benjamin Murphy’s Because The Night. A portrait of a woman sensually being overtaken by the light from the window behind her brings a quiet moodiness while Chelsea Bonham’s Time God opens to an empty room shown in the POV of someone who just entered to discover a strange world that seems to be collapsing from under them. The everyday struggle of budgeting to the next check is depicted in Christian Perdix’s End of Month, a relatable and relevant issue made especially difficult due to the millions out of work since the pandemic. Christian Mickovic taps into one’s relationship with loss in his untitled work which utilizes imagery like a burning house and moths to further imbue an emotional gravitas. In contrast, Alyssa Klauer’s work brings a sense of playfulness with her brightly paletted works of female feet contorting and pulling up flowers inside a background of artificial and whimsical brushstrokes and paint made to feel fluid.
Despite the overwhelming sense of uneasiness, Live From The Deep End hopes to also engage with the potential for progression and a journey to greener pastures. The roster of artists enlisted for this show engage with some of the darker aspects of the human experience but also reveal and beautify the imperfections, eccentricities, and emotions that make humans such complex beings with the potential to evolve and prosper. Even when surrounded by a sea of doubt and the inevitable concern of losing everything, there can be a way out and the only way sometimes is through.