She Sells Seashells By The Seashore

EAST HAMPTON, NY: Eric Firestone Gallery is pleased to announce She Sells Seashells By The Seashore, a group exhibition that brings the beach to the gallery. The Hamptons has long served as a meeting ground for bohemian spirits and the well-heeled, alike. It is a natural respite, as well as a chic outpost of the nearby city. What draws us to this coastal stretch year after year is the beach. On our shared sands, the Hamptons is not just a destination: it is a community bound together by a state of mind. Something in the ocean breeze rids us of our winter pretenses and clothing. An energy is absorbed from the sun and stars, pools and popsicles, seafood and S’mores. Summer strips us down to our bare essentials and brings us back to the basics.
Through various means, each artist in the exhibition emphasizes symbols of Summer. FriendsWithYou’s sculpture, Raisin Bran Sun, depicts Kellogg’s familiar mascot, Sunny, an icon of the brand introduced in 1966. Since then, Sunny has undergone major cosmetic alterations. Today, Kellogg’s still portrays the smiling sun scooping mounds of raisins into every box. For She Sells…, the Los Angeles-based collective re-imagines the American icon away from commodification and towards the original subject: a smiling sun. James Ulmer too, shows pared down symbols of Summer, using punchy primary colors to depict scenes at a beach. In Ulmer’s painting, his cartoon-like characters coexist on a flattened plane, mirroring the experience of going to the beach on a crowded day.
Moreover, the exhibition presents the convergence of technology and nature. Eric Yahnker approaches this with humor in Selfie Preservation, commenting on a generation’s obsession with smart technology. An outstretched hand, reminiscent of Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam, emerges from rough waves, clutching an iPhone, tilted at the perfect angle for a selfie. She Sells… is about enjoying aesthetics and appreciating artists’ intentions--yet, it is not about taking oneself seriously. So, succumb to that inner child who builds sandcastles at the beach and watches them as they wash away with the tide. We’ll cushion the floor with sand, and you won’t need a beach pass to enjoy the view.
She Sells Seashells By The Seashore features artworks by BÄST, Sanford Biggers, Jon Bocksel, Katherine Bradford, Caroline Wells Chandler, James Clar, Peter Dayton, Michael Dotson
Jim Drain, Sebastian Errazuriz, Phillip Estlund
Sam Friedman, FriendsWithYou, Chris Johanson, Misaki Kawai, Andrew Kuo, Anthony Miler
Isaac Nichols, Erik Parker, Tom Sanford
Kenny Scharf, Jen Stark , Agathe Snow, Max Snow, Jay Stuckey, James Ulmer, Eric White,
Eric Yankher
Eric Firestone Gallery, since its inception in 2010 in East Hampton, NY, has mounted numerous ambitious solo and group exhibitions from its East Hampton location. The Gallery’s unique program exhibits emerging and established artists as well as historic works, connecting contemporary art practice to significant art movements of the 20th Century. Along with noteworthy solo exhibitions including Sanford Biggers, Kenny Scharf and Bäst, popular group exhibitions have included Storage Wars, Seventh Inning Stretch, Nose Job, and Dazed and Confused.
Eric Firestone Gallery has been featured in The New York Times, New York Magazine, Art in America, ArtNews, Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair and many other publications.
For press inquires contact efg@ericfirestonegallery.com