NEW YORK, NY.- Derek Eller Gallery is presenting a solo exhibition of recent paintings by Canadian artist André Ethier entitled Canned Heat. For his eighth solo exhibition at the Gallery, Ethier evokes a society of goblin men that exist in anxious movement apart from their implied idyllic homeland. Two fantastical landscapes provide a locale to which the goblins are seemingly indigenous.

Ethier paints freely without preliminary sketches or a formal plan. Paintings are approached one at a time and are often completed in a single sitting; only in retrospect does a relationship between images occur. To that end, this series of paintings feels almost diaristic, as subliminal forces affecting the artist’s life guide the content.

Ethier reflects on this group of work as related to the “inevitable collision of the grotesque and sublime.” The goblins inconclusively move to, from, and apart from their homeland, refusing to occupy its peaceful suburban pastures and lawns. Instead, they live in the moment, racing to work, sweeping helplessly at black holes, and indifferently smoking cigarettes. Ethier decisively avoids overt sociopolitical commentary, turning instead to inquisitive gospel from the gut.

André Ethier (b. 1977) lives and works in Toronto, Canada. He received a BFA from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. Most recently, his work was included in R U STILL PAINTING?? curated by Falcon Art Collective and will be included in MPM/IRL curated by Mepaintsme. His work has been featured in exhibitions at Paul Petro Contemporary Art, Toronto; Harper's Apartment, New York, NY; Honor Fraser, Los Angeles, CA; Galería Marta Cervera, Madrid, Spain; Musée Des Beaux-Arts De Montreal, Montreal, Canada; Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, NC; and Gallerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris, France, among others.