Eric Dever

CLARITY PASSION & DARK INERTIA




The New York University, Kimmel Galleries, are pleased to present, Clarity, Passion and Dark Inertia: Paintings by Eric Dever, an exhibition of 29 paintings which brings the viewer on a journey, similar to the path of the artist himself.

In the beginning of this decade long process Dever limited his palette for 4 years to white alone — Zinc and Titanium white. While examining the material properties of paint and support, he uncovered a white spectrum ranging from opacity to translucency. He then introduced black, working through grayscales, widening the range and force of the work. In 2010, Dever began testing a variety of prepared red hues and arrived at Napthol Scarlet, and working it into some of the earlier compositions discovered a surprising range and quantity of tones, all from red, black, and white alone.

This approach embraces Dever’s interest in color’s shifting correspondence with matter (black), energy (red), and light (white). These color phenomena also echo Dever’s studies of material nature as presented in Samkhya philosophy, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and in the Bhagavad Gita (14.5):
Clarity, passion, dark inertia. These are qualities that originate from nature.

Eric Dever (born, Los Angeles, 1962) studied painting and critical theory at NYU, Steinhardt, MA’88-studio art. Dever’s work since the early 1990’s has been exhibited throughout the United States and in France. Recently, he had a solo exhibition at Berry Campbell Gallery in Chelsea, his work was also included in the Art Southampton and the Art Silicon Valley/San Francisco Art Fair, and a major painting was acquired by Guild Hall Museum in East Hampton. Last summer he delivered a Brain Food talk at the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill. Dever is represented by Berry Campbell Gallery, New York.

October 20th, 2015, thru January 11th, 2016
opening reception: Alumni Day--Saturday, October 24th


Kimmel Center for University Life
60 Washington Square South, New York


Illustrated catalogue essay by Janet Goleas.
'ex nihilo: red black and white'
Eric Dever, Berry Campbell Gallery, New York, 2015. pp 39-49


link to catalogue