June
10 to July 15, 2006
Eric
Lebofsky
Josh Mannis
William J. O'Brien
Gallery
Hours:
Wednesday thru Saturday:12 to 6pm
Images:
Press
release below
Chicago
artists Eric Lebofsky, Josh Mannis and William J. O'Brien met during
graduate studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and
first exhibited their shared themes of outmoded mysticism, twisted
psychology and obscure narratives together in a wildly popular three
person show at the now-defunct 1/Quarterly Space in 2004. Join us
at Western Exhibitions on June 10th when they reunite to debut three
large-scale black-and-white prints as well a new individual works.
In addition to his signature colored-pencil drawings, Eric Lebofsky
will unveil new paintings on panels, Josh Mannis blesses us with two
new freak-out videos and color digital collage, and William J. O'Brien,
fresh from a solo show at Miami's Locust Projects, exhibits sculpture
and drawings.
Eric
Lebofsky
Eric Lebofsky's funny, often disturbing
drawings and new paintings on panel illustrate systems of classification,
cosmologies, psychologies, obscure literature, and a gentle brand of
nihilism. These vibrant images, often portraits in profile, are concerned
with past, present, and imagined histories. Collectively, the references
implied, and the riffs generated, point toward darker uncertainties
that are leavened by large doses of twisted, wry humor.
Eric
Lebofsky has recently had solos shows at Miller Block Gallery in Boston
and Sears Peyton Gallery in New York City and has been included in
shows at Gavin Brown's Enterprise, Deitch Projects and Adam Baumgold
Gallery, all in New York, and in Chicago at Corbett vs. Dempsey, 1/Quarterly
and the Betty Rymer Gallery. His solo show at Western Exhibitions
last summer was reviewed in Art Papers and his artist book from that
show "Things to do in Ice Age" was recently acquired by
the artist book collection at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art.
Josh
Mannis
Josh Mannis' videos and photo collages are performance arenas for
interior moments of epic scale and a behavioral psychology bounded
by misinformed appropriations of high modernist aesthetics, and by
a homegrown mash-up of leftist mysticism.
Mannis
just had a solo show at Small A Projects in Portland, OR and was recently
included in a three-person show at Chicago's Bucketrider, and in group
shows at El Particular in Mexico City, New Chinatown Barbershop in
Los Angeles, the Bemis Art Center in Omaha, NE, 40000 in Chicago and
at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh.
William
J. O'Brien
William
J. O'Brien appropriates design elements and illustration conventions
(he left a career in advertising and graphic design to make "fine
art") in a myriad of approaches, from drawing to video to sculpture
to fiber art to installation, to nurture ideas, both personal and
universal, about sexuality, media, identity and other information
streams that course through his art and life.
O'Brien has had solo shows at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago,
and Locust Projects and Ingalls and Associates, both in Miami. His
work has been shown at Nina Menocal Projects in Mexico City, Glasgow
School of Art in Glasgow, Scotland, Gallery 400 in Chicago, IL and
Margaret Thatcher Projects, Artist Space, Participant, Inc., all in
New York, NY.