Eric Dever

WHITE PAINTINGS


Eric Dever, Zinc White on Burlap No 7, oil on burlap 30 x 30" 2007.
The Francis J. Greenburger Collection
068 Surveillance / ARTS                               
Surface Magazine ‘07

 
From zoological architecture experts to
canvases that capture the structuralism of
I.M. Pei, these interdisciplinary artists take
full advantage of the increasingly blurry line
between art and design

--TIFFANY JOW


"Art always seems to inspire architecture, but how often does architecture inspire art? After spending a decade working at I.M. Pei & Partners, New York based artist Eric Dever retains a lasting impression of his experience in the design world and a sensitivity to the properties of the materials he uses. Like the French limestone or poured concrete that Pei is famous for, Dever's primed and unprimed linen, canvas and burlap canvases serve a similar function as both surface and support for his pieces. The artist allows the texture and character of each material dictate his choice of paint, which bleeds and bonds to the foundation, highlighting the natural beauty and 'architecture' of fabric."
 
TWZW 29


Dever limited his palette for 4 years (2005-09) to white alone -- Zinc and Titanium white, enabling him to uncover a white spectrum ranging from opacity to translucency. Focusing on paint properties and supports, each painting is constructed with one or two brushes or knives. Supports are revealed as the negative space between multiple strokes or through the paint itself. Dever (NYU-MA'88) was a graduate student of Marcia Hafif, who introduced him to monochrome painting and Robert Ryman's project; both are influential artists of the Radical Painting Group formed in the late 70’s. Whether applied in stacked or alternating strokes, concentric circles, these paintings are part of a continuum, energetic and nonchalant.