ERIC WERT
GALLERY HENOCH 555 WEST 25TH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10001 917.305.0003 info@galleryhenoch.com www.galleryhenoch.com
Cover: detail view, Dark Still Life, Oil on Canvas, 55” x 60” (for full image, see pages 12-13) Right: detail view, Radicchio, Oil on Panel, 16” x 14” (for full image, see pages 26-27)
ERIC WERT Other Life September 24 - October 17, 2020
Cherries Oil on Panel 16” x 20”
Iris and Rose Oil on Canvas 40” x 50”
Avocados Oil on Panel 11.5” x 14.5”
Giant Graphite on Paper 30” x 40”
Dark Still Life Oil on Canvas 55” x 60”
It is a misnomer to call Eric Wert’s still lifes “still,” for they fairly buzz with compositional dynamism: jubilant messes of blooms and stems arranged willy-nilly, opulent vases toppled on reflective tiles, rivulets of spilled water shining glassy-smooth, droplets akimbo reflecting luxurious fabrics. Each work is a feast of horticultural bounty recontextualized by the human gaze. More concretely, they are products of extraordinary skill, a time-intensive process, and an uncommon sense of visual drama which have won the respect of fans and collectors around the world. Each of Wert’s compositions begins with a prototype still life, which he stages in his Portland, Oregon studio, and photographs in many variations of angle, lighting and positioning. He fashions these myriad images into a working amalgam, tweaking its elements in a selective editorial improvisation, and exaggerating perspective, reflections, chroma, contrast and other variables to maximize visual impact. The result of this meticulous fine-tuning is a complex set of components coalescing into a tableau that appears effortlessly “realistic.” — Richard Speer excerpted from the monograph Eric Wert: Still Life, Pomegranate Books, 2018
Nimbus Oil on Canvas 60” x 48”
Oysters Oil on Panel 12” x 16”
Romanesco Oil on Panel 24” x 24”
Bouquet Oil on Panel 24” x 24” Private Collection
Tomato Oil on Panel 9” x 9”
Blue Crab Oil on Panel 12” x 16”
Radicchio Oil on Panel 16” x 14”
Varied Thrush Oil on Panel 24” x 30”
Vespertine Oil on Panel 12” x 9”
Wide Graphite on Paper 14” x 20”
Wild Rose Oil on Panel 4” x 4”
Scorpion Oil on Panel 4” x 4”
ERIC WERT Born: 1976 Education: 2001 MFA, Painting/Drawing, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 1997 BFA, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL Selected Solo Exhibitions: 2020 Gallery Henoch, New York, NY 2016 Hellion Gallery, Portland, OR 2015 William Baczek Fine Arts, Northampton, MA 2013 William Baczek Fine Arts, Northampton, MA 2011 William Baczek Fine Arts, Northampton, MA 2009 William Baczek Fine Arts, Northampton, MA 2007 William Baczek Fine Arts, Northampton, MA 2006 Klaudia Marr Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 2005 William Baczek Fine Arts, Northampton, MA Selected Group Exhibitions: 2020 Winter Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY 2019 Art New York, NY Dallas Art Fair, TX Summer Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY Winter Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY 2018 ArtMiami: Context, Miami, FL Chosen Objects, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY Art New York, NY Dallas Art Fair, TX Winter Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY 2017 Summer Group Exhibit, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY Context Art New York, NY Dallas Art Fair, TX Attention to Detail, Robert Lange Gallery, Charleston, SC Platinum Blend, Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, CA Animal Kingdom, William Baczek Fine Arts, Northampton, MA CK Contemporary, San Francisco, CA
Winter Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY 2016 ArtMiami: Context, Miami, FL Dallas Art Fair, TX 50 Years a Dealer: George Henoch Shechtman, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY Get Real, Stephanie Chefas Projects, Portland, OR 20th Anniversary Exhibition, William Baczek Fine Arts, Northampton, MA 2015 Still Life, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY Dallas Art Fair, TX Lush Life, Roq la Rue, Seattle, WA The Magic of Realism, Saks Galleries, Denver, CO Wallflowers, Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, OH Ema, Hellion Gallery, Portland, OR & HPGRP Gallery, Tokyo Winter Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY 2014 Dallas Art Fair, TX Amuse Bouche, Bridgewater State University, MA Boston International Fine Arts Show, Boston, MA Holiday Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY 2013 13th International Exhibition of Botanical Art & Illustration, Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA Contemporary Realism Invitational, Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, OH Winter Group Show, Gallery Henoch, New York, NY Plant Life, Western Exhibitions, Chicago, IL 2012 Gallery Henoch, New York, NY 2012 Still Life Exhibition, William Baczek Fine Arts, Northampton, MA Aqua Art Fair, Miami, FL 2011 Gallery Henoch, New York, NY 2011 Still Life Exhibition, William Baczek Fine Arts, Northampton, MA Contemporary Realism Invitational, Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, OH Distinctive Offerings, Wendt Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
Decadence, Evoke Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM Florabundance, Sullivan Goss, Santa Barbara, CA 2010 2010 Still Life Exhibition, William Baczek Fine Arts, Northampton, MA The Metaphoric Object, Dunedin Fine Arts Center, FL Klaudia Marr Gallery, Santa Fe, NM Evoke Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM 2009 The Leaf and the Page, Illinois State Museum (traveling exhibit), Chicago, IL, Springfield, IL, and Lockport, IL Is Everything Black and White? Selected works from the Arthur S. Goldberg Collection, Gallery 360, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 2009 Still Life Exhibition, William Baczek Fine Arts, Northampton, MA 2008 Rarity Gallery, Mykonos, Greece George Billis Gallery, New York, NY Clark Gallery, Lincoln, MA West Coast 10, Sullivan Goss Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA Faculty Exhibit, Eric & Rhonna Hoffman Gallery, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR 2008 Still Life Exhibition, William Baczek Fine Arts, Northampton, MA Weeds Seeds and Buds, Trudy Labell Fine Arts, Naples, FL Still Lives And Other Narratives, Klaudia Marr Gallery, Santa Fe, NM 15th Annual Realism Invitational, Klaudia Marr Gallery, Santa Fe, NM Selected Reviews/Publications: 2020 American Art Collector, May 2019 Buzzworthy, December 2018 Eric Wert: Still Life, Monograph, Pomegranate Publishers 2017 Visual Feast, May We Art, April “Good Enough to Eat,” The Mayfair Magazine, April 2016 “Still Life,” American Arts Quarterly, Winter
2015 2014 2013
2012 2011
2010 2009 2008 2007
2006
Buzzworthy, November “Dissimilar Similarities,” Culture, February “Eric Wert: More is More,” Artist’s Magazine, June “Picture Perfect,” Foodism Magazine, Issue 5 Fusion Blog, February 15 EmptyKingdom.com, March 27 Northampton Gazette, November 20 “A Sense of Vitality,” American Art Collector, November Artists on Art, October Time Out Chicago, February 14 “Sweet Destruction,” Artists Magazine, November Poets and Artists, September American Art Collector, March American Art Collector, November AEQAI, October 15 “Sin Boldly,” Santa Fe Reporter, July 1 American Art Collector, February Poets and Artists, September American Art Collector, March American Art Collector, November “Eric Wert: Solo Exhibition”, Art New England, Oct/Nov Chicago Tribune, September 11 Antiques & the Arts Online, August 26 Santa Barbara News-Press, June 13 “Getting Real,” Northampton Gazette, December 14 New American Paintings, December American Art Collector, November “Competition Spotlight,” Artist Magazine, June “Arts Almanac,” Northampton Gazette, January 22 American Art Collector, May
Selected Public Collections: New Britain Museum of American Art Illinois State Museum Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh PA
GALLERY HENOCH 555 WEST 25TH STREET NEW YORK, NY 10001 917.305.0003 info@galleryhenoch.com www.galleryhenoch.com