Photos by Jacob Koestler
Portrait of artist, courtesy of artist. Photo by Ella Medicus
Eli Gfell “yellow tape/ delicate surface” 2017 Base dims and materials variable. Dry wall, construction adhesive, joint compound, paint. 42 x 25 x 15 in. Courtesy of artist.
Eli Gfell “blue tape/touch up” 2017, Dry wall,joint compound, paint. 42 x 24 x 8 in. Courtesy of artist.
Eli Gfell “vXx” 2017, Lumber, drywall, xps, osb, expanding glue, joint compound, paint. 16 x 7 x 3 1/2 in. Courtesy of artist.
Eli Gfell “/wall” 2017, Lumber, xps, construction adhesive. 96 x 48 x 3 1/2 in. Courtesy of artist.
Eli Gfell “/Xl” 2017, Dry wall, joint compound, graphite. 42 x 25 x 15 in. Courtesy of artist.
a Window to Sculpture Emerging Artist Series 2018 Exhibition
Eli Gfell: /X
Eli Gfell: /X
Euclid Avenue Gallery
Friday, April 27 – Friday, June 8, 2018
Dual opening reception Friday, April 27 5:30 – 8 p.m with Matt Lambert: Fun & Games
The Artist Talks: Eli Gfell, 7:00 p.m. in the Euclid Avenue Gallery
Matt Lambert speaks at the closing party.
Closing party for Lambert and Gfell exhibitions Friday, June 8 6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
“Art tends to occupy fabricated spaces. Most of us live in them too. We are constantly constructing and reconstructing our environments, the spaces we individually and collectively occupy. Our contemporary consumer society is directly reflected in our materials and methods for building things. Huge amounts of material get wasted. Materials are mass produced on a global scale by hugely powerful corporations. They are highly processed or entirely synthetic. Sometimes they imitate other materials. Eventually they all fall apart…” Eli Gfell, Artist’s Statement
Summary of Work:
“A kind of alternative renovation, my work is something between object, architecture and image. Made from found and re-purposed building materials, it is created through intuitive processes and imperfect systems. The shapes and forms used deliberately reference gypsum crystals, the primary component used in manufacturing drywall and plaster. Recently a type of synthetic gypsum has been developed. In my work there is often the presence of a faked or frozen action, as in a painting; the cutting, sawing, scoring and folding of a material, a distorted perspective, or a faux surface. I am interested in physical, material tension as a synonym for societal tension. I want to examine and undermine traditional notions of value, commodity, finish, permanence, and the monumental; elevating construction detritus and unused or unusable materials. I want to reveal how our throw-away society is built, using what it has thrown away to do so.” Eli Gfell, Artist’s Statement
Eli Gfell earned his BFA in Painting and Sculpture from Kent State University (2014). Currently he works full time at MOCA as the Exhibitions Project Manager. He is also the co-owner and operator of the experimental gallery H Space on Cleveland’s west side with artist Ella Medicus. See more of Eli Gfell’s work on his website.
