Eric Fischl: Recent Works
September 12 - October 19, 2018
We live in a culture obsessed with vanity, and more often than not, people wear masks to feel accepted by their peers. As a society, we’re becoming increasingly vain. For most young people, an over-reliance on feedback from social media dictates their level of self-confidence. If, for example, they’re used to getting 10 “likes,” but only receive 5, they’re crushed; alternatively, if they receive 15 “likes,” they feel a rush of celebrity. It’s an unfortunate but true cultural reality – hiding one’s real humanity behind veils to appear idyllic and flawless in an endless search for validation and acceptance. Ultimately, social media – a vehicle meant for connection – is a phenomenon that disconnects their users from others and themselves. If we want to seek a more proportional view of what makes us human, we need to look at Art. Throughout his career, Eric Fischl has been on a quest to portray the human body, stripped of all its concealments.
Over the years, I have become familiar with Eric Fischl as a modern-day flâneur – an observer of life. The great French art critic, Louis Edmond Duranty coined the term “flâneur” to describe the 19th century painters that observed and recorded daily life, notably the Impressionists. This subject was unconventional for the time. These artists were not interested in setting a scene, or creating a false narrative; rather, they focused their attention on individuals around them performing routine functions and interactions. Fischl takes this concept to a new level by working from hundreds of spontaneous photographs that he captures to compose scenes that fixes a moment in time with people, often strangers, who are unaware that their forms are being recorded. Read on in catalog.
Adam Adelson
Director, Adelson Galleries