November 27 – December 31
the West Wall
The work of Ethan Hayes-Chute provides a feeling of quiet, solitude and isolation in familiar yet fantastical environments. His small paintings and sculptures are filled with a sense of voyeurism and nostalgia, whether it be gained from finding a bedraggled cabin in a now-forgotten nook in the back woods, or discovering a field where terrestrial debris is unaffected by gravity. The imagery suggests possible timeless locations for an alternate life of seclusion and sublimity, eschewing a specific era or time of day.
His large-scale installations project these themes to human scale. Viewers will be reminded of the house they grew up in, or their uncles hunting cabin; see another way of life, outside of a huge apartment block, or a brownstone; realize that they can build things, even houses, themselves; live simply, without unnecessary consumption if something still serves its function, why replace it?
Despite living in Berlin for the last 5 years, these ideas of self-sufficiency, self-preservation and self-exclusion are still of great interest to the artist. There are plenty of arguments for living in an urban setting, but what about the restorative effects of spending some time in isolation?
For the exhibition Several Examples of Homesteading, Hayes-Chute exhibits new drawings based on the ideas mentioned above. Drawn in fine detail with graphite on aged paper, often in axonometric projection, they have the feel of forgotten architectural sketches or observational drawings made long ago. Depicting various (possibly discontinued) ways of life or models for potential living situations, the drawings celebrate various aspects of the hand-made, the do-it-yourself and the self-sufficient ways of life most of us, at least occasionally, have lusted after, whatever our real-life situation may be.
