“Mere color can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways.”-Oscar Wilde
This week SOCO Gallery presented its first exhibition of 2019 with Austin Eddy’s vibrant abstract works. The joyful compilations reflect fantastical moments from his travels where he was working in various studios around the world and interpreted through his colorful imagination. I have included a few favorites here, but pictures do not do these justice. The juxtaposition of colors, composition of forms, and layering are much better seen in person!
VIA SOCO GALLERY
SOCO Gallery is pleased to present Tur Til Turtle Island, an exhibition of new paintings and works on paper by New York based artist Austin Eddy. T This will be the artist’s first solo exhibition with SOCO Gallery. The exhibition is on view until February 15, 2019.
Austin Eddy explores the relationship between representation and abstraction. The simplification of complex forms serves as a framework for Eddy to play with shape, color and pattern. His work honors both the original subject and the painting process itself, and speaks to many influences including modern, folk and outsider art. ‘Bold, Matisse-like shapes proliferate the canvas. Muted taupes and browns mingle with vibrant reds, yellows and oranges, dark forest greens and deep blues. Geometric outlines and rounded, hand-like forms regenerate in familiar patterns from piece to piece, snuggly floating in abstract constellations.’ – Wall Street International Magazine
“Tur Til” means “trip to” in Danish, and the exhibition is a celebration of the discovery that takes place during travel both in reality and in the imagination. The works in Tur Til Turtle Island were made in his Brooklyn studio as well as recent trips including a residency in London, a summer visit to Greece and a studio in the Hamptons down the street from Jackson Pollock’s studio. Each location has distinct light, leisure, history and nature. Eddy’s new work captures these elements and places them into imagined scenes filled with colorful birds and fantastical imagery.
BIOGRAPHY
Austin Eddy earned a BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2009. Exhibiting internationally, his solo shows since 2012 include Roberto Paradise, San Juan, PR; Christian Berst, New York, NY; Bendixen Contemporary Art, Copenhagen, Denmark; The Horticultural Society, New York, NY; Important Projects, Oakland, CA; Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX, and Taymour Grahne Gallery, New York, NY. He participated in group shows, including Museum Of Contemporary Art, Atlanta, GA; Adams And Ollman, Portland, OR; Coburn Projects, London, United Kingdom; Brand New Gallery; Milan, Italy; Steinsland Berliner, Stockholm, Sweden; Charlotte Fogh Gallery, Aarhus, Denmark as well as a two-person exhibition at Denny Gallery in New York, NY. In 2018 he attended the Liquitex International Residency Program in London. His work has been featured in The New York Times, Modern Painters, Blouin Artinfo, and The New Yorker, among other publications.