12/7: PINEAPPLE RIBBON // new works by EROL SCOTT HARRIS & CLAIRE VALDEZ
PINEAPPLE RIBBON
new works by EROL SCOTT HARRIS & CLAIRE VALDEZ
curated by RAVEN FALQUEZ MUNSELL
December 7-22, 2014
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Opening Reception: Sunday, Dec. 7, 4-8pm
Open Hours: Sundays & Mondays, noon-4pm
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ACRE Projects
1913 W 17th Street
Pineapple Ribbon is an exhibition of new paintings and works on paper by Erol Scott Harris and Claire Valdez. Beginning with the familiar language of still-life and portrait painting, Harris and Valdez translate musings on personal histories, identity and desire into textured, patterned and near permeable surfaces. In combining a wide array of materials and mark-making, Harris produces collage-like surfaces that become avenues for considering self-representation and portraiture. With the selfie in mind, he imagines the body fragmented and freed from its corporality through its representation in technology. Twisted, fractured and muddied, Harris stretches the body almost to the point of breaking.
Valdez uses the still life as a way to elevate domestic space and examine marginality. Painting from found or constructed vignettes, her works are usually highly patterned, tight and illusionistic. Rendered fastidiously, her subjects become isolated and discrete landscapes removed from their original domestic narratives.
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EROL SCOTT HARRIS lives and works in Chicago, Illinois. His paintings and works on paper explore the possibilities of blending both abstraction and figuration demonstrating his desire to transcend categorization. His organic forms adapt to the natural textures and designs of each surface, often interacting haphazardly. Erol has exhibited with FlatStudios and at the MDW Fair: Visual Arts Landing. Erol has also collaborated with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company at the Dance Center for the Cunningham MinEvent project. Erol holds a BFA from Columbia College Chicago.
More information about Erol Scott Harris can be found at cargocollective.com/
CLAIRE VALDEZ received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and was the recipient of an Edward L. Ryerson Fellowship. Her work has shown at Heaven Gallery and Forever & Always, in Chicago. She is currently co-director of PEREGRINEPROGRAM, an artist run project space in Garfield Park, and co-founder of bookclub, an open forum for the discussion of books, essays, erotica, art, and research.
More information about Claire Valdez can be found at peregrineprogram.com.