20/4/2006
Jon Elliott
31Grand, New York
On the Outlands of Empire. Engaged in the contemporary fascination of exposing the marginal activities of international capitalism, Elliott's paintings offer complex commentaries on excess and waste in our society.
On the Outlands of Empire
31Grand is pleased to announce the opening of a solo exhibition of new
paintings by Jon Elliott. Engaged in the contemporary fascination of
exposing the marginal activities of international capitalism, Jon Elliott¹s
paintings offer complex commentaries on excess and waste in our society.
Rivers, bays, and open-ocean, historical avenues of commercial trade have
been major substrates for the transmission of cultural ideas. They have
also traditionally been inheritors of much of the waste of civilization.
With the advent of the internet, computers, like television and film have
become the most important transmitters of culture and fantasy in
technological societies. As they become obsolete, the excessive glut of
these objects spills out around the remote borders of our society, including
our waterways, and those of distant societies.
In Elliott¹s recent
paintings, piles of computers and televisions mixed with the occasional
oil/waste drum, populate various waterways in somewhat ambiguous settings
that appear to be on the outskirts of urban centers. Radiant, though
somewhat toxic skies drip, and cast their neon color schemes over these dark
and sublime waterscapes, while mysterious, undulating patterns appear like
life-forms born of chemical and digital run-off. Even with their somewhat
bleak subject matter, these paintings depict signs of a tenacious survival,
not only of the natural world, but also of the humanity within. The lights
in these cities still glow, and an occasional burst of fireworks dots the
skies, showing us that these cites are alive, and these paintings do not
represent a distant future.
Jon Elliott lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
Image: "Metro North" 48x72", 2006, oil, polymer, and electronic debris on panel
Opening reception: Friday, April 21, 7-10pm
31 Grand
31 Grand Street - Brooklyn
Gallery hours: F-M, 1pm 7pm
Directions: Subway -L Train to Bedford Ave. walk south on Bedford Ave. to
Grand St. Right on Grand St. to Kent Ave. Car -Drive over the Williamsburg
Bridge. First exit. Right on Broadway. Right on Kent Ave. to Grand St.