Opening Reception: Wednesday, July 16, 6–8 pm
Derek Eller Gallery is pleased to present a solo exhibition of mixed-media sculpture and wall-based works by Steve Keister entitled Split Level. Informed by Mesoamerican architecture and sculpture, Keister conjures bespoke deities that pay homage to Pre-Colombian myth. At the core of his ethos is a profound interest in human and animal consciousness; Keister extrapolates his subjects from Central American mythology to develop a complex ecosystem of mystical fauna.
Keister’s practice employs a diverse range of material including wood, ceramic, Styrofoam, and cardboard, most of which is scavenged and repurposed. This action was instigated by his discovery of a formal correlation between Styrofoam and cardboard packing cartons and Mesoamerican architecture and sculpture. To signify this relationship, he developed a process of casting ceramic slip in plaster molds. The plaster molds were derived from voids contained in the Styrofoam, as well as the exteriors of the cartons, thereby accumulating a vocabulary of forms both large and small and allowing increased flexibility. Eventually, these evolved into wall pieces, a kind of ceramic collage on painted plywood.
Disparate types of movement are represented throughout the works in this exhibition. Free- standing sculptures adopt static stances reflecting their monumental nature. Wall-mounted works extend beyond their own bodies through bright painted line, suspended in perpetual dance. The resulting community is as contemporary as it is archaic.
Steve Keister (b.1949, Lancaster, PA; lives and works in New York, NY) earned a BFA and an MFA from Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship and a Gottlieb Foundation Grant, among other awards. He has had solo exhibitions at Freddy, Harris, NY; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Texas Gallery, Houston; Blum Helman, New York; Galerie Rudolf Zwirner, Cologne; Feature, Inc, New York; Mitchell Algus, New York; and Gagosian, Los Angeles. This will be his second solo exhibition with the Gallery.