SAN FRANCISCO, CA.- Berggruen Gallery announced the opening of Even An Island Has The Ocean., an exhibition of recent work by Austin Eddy. This show marks his second solo exhibition with the gallery. Even An Island Has The Ocean. will be on view from May 5 through June 10, 2023. The gallery will host a reception for the artist on Friday, May 5, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm.
Austin Eddy's works are characterized by their skewed perspectives and dimensional flatness. Through his unique use of color and pictorial style, Eddy creates a delicate balance between figuration and abstraction, resulting in a dynamic and thought-provoking body of work. Even An Island Has The Ocean. presents six new paintings, four works on paper, and three bronze sculptures, all exploring concepts of transience and solitude.
In this exhibition, Eddy delves into the universal themes of mortality and isolation, recognizing the unifying desire to understand both. Inspired by Etel Adnan’s 1990 book of poems, The Spring Flower’s Own & The Manifestation of the Voyage, Eddy’s newest body of work serves as a personal musing on the ideas of impermanence and the eventual and inevitable end to one’s existence. These new paintings, works on paper, and bronzes emit a sense of lyricism that defies categorization, evoking a delicate balance between serenity and whimsy, defined lines and open plains, as well as vibrant and subdued hues. Through a masterful fusion of memory and personal experience, the artist creates abstracted scenes of pensive contemplation. Within Eddy’s vivid compositions, a chorus of avian life takes shape as chimerical birds perch upon tabletops and supporting structures, flitting between the bars of their cages with wings poised between the promise of flight and the reality of captivity. These birds transcend singular representations, serving as entryways to a collective conversation about temporality and the ephemeral nature of human existence.
Combining a diverse palette of media — including oil, Flashé, ink, and bronze — these new works pulse with dynamic textures, strong pigments and intimate narratives. Through his wistfully nostalgic works, Eddy explores diverse dimensions of isolation by evoking a sense of loss while simultaneously underscoring the importance of recognizing our interconnectedness — asserting that we all exist in tandem, no matter how far removed we may feel. These works pay tribute to the present moment, all while acknowledging its impermanence as it slips away into the memories of the past or the uncertainties of the future. As Eddy notes, “The title of this show speaks to the feeling of embracing loss. The island can be thought of as self, and the ocean here exists as memory, time or even a loved one. The two are caught dancing with the tide in an endless embrace. A perpetual renegotiation of their relationship.” Eddy’s artistry mirrors the complex human desire for companionship and structure, intertwined with a paradoxical longing for solitude and disorder that resonates within us all. In this way, the artist invites viewers to contemplate the fragility of time and the duality of our existence.
Austin Eddy was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He received his BFA from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago in 2010. He now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. His work has been exhibited internationally. Recent exhibitions of note include Immutable Traveler. at Kunst Kunz in Munich, Germany; Crossing the Bar. at Eva Presenhuber Galerie in Anti Paros, Greece; and Sad Landscapes, curated by Eric Troncy for Académie Conti in Dijon, France.
