Two artists drawing in black & white, finding meaning through imagery. How does it make you feel?
January 18th - February 10th, 2008
Opening Reception: Thursday, January 10th, 2008, 6-8pm
Eric McDade
Giving in to the fear that a secure, healthy relationship could mean certain death for someone whose bread and butter are the dregs of interpersonal experiences, Eric McDade risks stunting his evolutionary growth and continues to drink from the same old stagnant well of self-pity-tainted social malignancies in order to bring forth his most recent suite. The resulting body of work is, again, one that begs from the viewer as much sympathy and praise as can be neatly separated from the lint in one's pockets. A couple of pieces not withstanding, the primary theme is one of discontent with the behavior of those around him, as is with most of McDade's past work.
Born in Detroit, MI, 1971
Lives and Works in Philadelphia, PA
EDUCATION
BFA Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, 1996
MFA Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 1999
PUBLICATIONS
Big Kids/Little Kids by John Freeborn
Philadelphia Introductions: Eric McDade by Andrea Kirsh
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2006
"More of the Same" Basekamp, Philadelphia, PA
"Let It Go, Already" University of Delaware, Newark, DE
2004
"More Exercises in Self-Pity" Oulous Repair Shop, Los Angeles, CA
2003
"More Exercises in Self-Pity" Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
2002
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be where I am today" Window on Broad, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
"Gilded Sores" Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia, PA
2001
"More Reasons to Stay Inside" Spector Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2005
"The Bird Show" Studio C, Philadelphia, PA
"Lubrica mi Vida" Diane Ashley Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
"Inhabit: an apartment installation" Inhabit Space, Philadelphia, PA
2004
"Red Dot 5" Spector Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
"Great (Re)masters" Spector Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
"November Coming Fire" Alley Culture, Detroit, MI
"One-Off!" Suave Lavanda, Philadelphia, PA
"Berlinerkunstsalon" Berlin, Germany
"Grubstake" Basekamp, Philadelphia, PA
"Two enter and one leaves" Year Project, Brooklyn, NY
"Building Alteration Project" Mildred Monroe Elementary, Baltimore, MD
"Sequenzen" Subspace Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany
2003
"Factorial Debut" Oulous Repair Shop, Los Angeles, CA
"Red Dot 4" Spector Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
"Philly vs. New York" 222Gallery, Philadelphia, PA / Riviera, New York, NY
"Off the Wagon: Work by the ICA Crew" Space 1026, Philadelphia, PA
2002
"Separations: Manufacturing Art / Skateboards" 222Gallery, Philadelphia, PA / Fourxfour, Hollywood, CA
"Hopscotch: Associative Leaps in the Construction of Narrative" Painted Bride Art Center, Philadelphia, PA
"Red Dot 3" Spector Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2001
"Red Dot 2" Spector Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
"Buffered" Basekamp, Philadelphia, PA
2000
"PopArtExperimentalParty" The Khyber, Philadelphia, PA
1999
"Dolls" Nexus Gallery, Philadelphia,PA
1998
Telenium, Philadelphia, PA
1997
"The Unbroken Line: The Fellowship of PAFA Centennial Exhibit" Museum of American Art, Philadelphia, PA
1996
"Linen" Willis Gallery, Detroit, MI
1995
Mask Gallery, Detroit, MI
Biegas Gallery, Detroit, MI
"Available Space" Warehouse Exhibit, Detroit, MI
1992
"Big Fat Art Show" First Unitarian Church, Birmingham, MI
Creating images that awaken the language of the unconscious is where the foundation of my work lies. I’ve always been intrigued by the way some images affect me and how I react to them. I am interested in images not only that expresses “ideas” but also dispute those ideas, creating a sense of confusion that alters my perception, where the familiar becomes unfamiliar.
I find a great deal of pleasure in creating images based on fragile structures that challenge and defy our sense of balance and order, both through the physical and the natural world. Defining concepts that not only demonstrate how vulnerable we are, but remind us of our emotional confusions, frustrations, and disappointments, as well as our sense of hope, enlightenment, joy and humour. I am interested in a paradoxical image that generates ambivalent feelings, i.e.: “Is the bird headless or is it perpetually trapped,” such as the confusion between seriousness and the absurd, compassion and mockery.
At the end of the creative process there is the expectation of making work capable of moving the viewer. Silently making them an accomplice in the web, their turmoil and perception forces them to reflect on whether they have become the spider or the prey.
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