"The Ends of Invention" by Chris Beeston

Patrick Parrish Gallery is pleased to present The Ends of Invention, the first solo exhibition of work by New York-based artist Chris Beeston.

“The pieces in this show are extensions of things I’ve experienced in the world: a broken Bluetooth speaker, a weird piece of metal on the ground, a science fiction novel, a technical diagram,” he says. The meticulous works elevate everyday, mass-produced objects—like 99-cent store Tupperware—into objects of greater beauty and extended functionality without concealing their origins. Beeston’s curiosity about the world is on full display, focused on the geometric, scientific, and technical underpinnings of our culture. He simultaneously demonstrates great originality while also questioning whether originality can exist in an absolute sense. “We are creatively saturated,” he says. “So much has been done already. And yet, everything you encounter can still be a stepping stone to the next thought. It’s necessary to embrace that tension.”

Beeston transforms a light reflector into a speaker horn, drywall anchors into lamp feet. His fascination with functional objects highlights a belief that people desire deeper, more emotional connections with the objects they encounter every day. His trial-and-error process is a quest to transcend an object or material’s preconceived purpose. Striving for the vocabulary of Apple but on an AmazonBasics budget, these pieces ask one central question: “I wonder if this will work?”

Chris Beeston was raised in rural North Carolina and moved to New York after receiving a BA in Studio Art at Davidson College. He has enjoyed employment as a studio assistant to Tom Sachs since 2009. His work has been exhibited at Colette, 7Eleven Gallery, and The Hole.

Please contact info@patrickparrish.com for more information.