March Program 3/10 - 2/26
Mark Mulroney
I’m Trying Really Hard
We are proud to announce Mark Mulroney’s second show at Ever Gold Gallery, “I’m Trying Really Hard.” It will be a show of reasonably tasteful works that address contemporary issues such as malnourishment and decorative pumpkin carving.
Mulroney is represented by Mixed Greens Gallery in NYC and Ebersmoore Gallery in Chicago. He has also shown in Copenhagen at V1 Gallery, National Gallery of Art in Warsaw, The San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, and Park Life in San Francisco.
He currently lives and works out of Rochester, NY.
www.markmulroney.com
Buffalo sounds like a really amazing place, how does it inspire you artistically and otherwise?
Buffalo is a fine place indeed but I live in Rochester also known as Rock City or Smugtown USA, although since the riots in '64 and factories closing down a lot of that smugness has worn off. Living here has been quite an adjustment but it has been good for me. I don't see any other artists and I don't go to any shows. It is pretty hard to get caught up in all the petty competition when you just sit in your room and work. Also minor league baseball is the greatest thing ever. My wife and I pack sandwiches and ride our bikes to the Rochester Redwings games.
Your versatility as a visual artist runs the spectrum from illustration to collage to sculpture to abstract painting to conceptual art and everything in between…with a consistent level of impressive ability on all fronts.. How do you decide what sort of work to present at your gallery shows?
I am afraid of being type cast. I don't want to become Peter Halley or Daniel Buren. Having a signature style might be great for branding and sales but it seems like death for an artist. I like to make a little bit of everything. Over the last couple years I have made an effort to try and present more consistent shows that develop around themes like loneliness, sexual frustration, unwanted bleeding or happiness. Generally I have several bodies of work going on at the same time and I just show whatever I am most excited about.
What type of people do you suffer the least?
Perhaps it is a product of getting older or just that I don't have a social life but I am not bothered by people that much anymore. I used to get really upset at everything and everyone but that was pretty unproductive. Now I just focus on trying to make work I like and let everything else fall away. There will always be more popular and succesful artists and boring curators but that is beyond my control so why get all upset.
The most?
I suppose this question is asking about those people that I have a lot of patience for. I like to see people make a sincere effort. Even if they fail miserably I still respect the effort and respect them for trying.
Your Website is hands down the best artist website I’ve ever visited, and I’ve visited my share. Do you spend a lot of time interneting?
Not really. I wish I had the discipline to spend more time on the website as I have so many new ideas for categories but I don't like working on a computer. I try and update it every now and then so it doesn't get super stale but sometimes I just let it sit there for a while. I think that a website can be just another extension of an artists' work but most artists' have websites that look like they are applying for jobs at IBM.
Is it true that you are a somewhat legendary racquetball player?
I have a two year undefeated streak to maintain. Eat right, stretch and hit the ball really really hard and you too could be a racquetball legend.
Can I still buy one of your sketchbooks?
I had some recent sketchbooks out as part of the last New York show and I got an offer of $10k for one of them. The money would have been nice as I don't make much but I didn't sell it. I think that at some point I will want to publish a book of my best sketchbook pages over the years and I will need to hold on to them until that happens. I tend to think my best work is in the sketchbooks. Of course you (Jamie) are the Lord of a vast publishing empire so if you want to trade your services for mine I am sure we can work something out that is mutually beneficial.
A Few Rochester Notes:
Frederick Douglass was born here.
The home of the "Garbage Plate".
Kodak was founded here.
Just one of many stops on the now irrelevant Erie Canal.
I can walk to the airport from my house.
Joe Enos
Phoney Baloney
For the exhibition, Phoney Baloney, Joe Enos will create a space that addresses manufactured realities and contemporary commitments to certain cultural tropes. Since Joe was a child he has studied and been mesmerized by cartoons. His present work interrogates the semiology of his lifelong fascination. Joe uses “real” objects from cartoons− such as cartoon-like representations of wood− and will reintroduce them within the space of the exhibition. The space has been modified in a way that totally submerses the viewer− or consumer− into these cartoon symbols. The exhibition space will be paneled with "cartoon" like wood panels, with plushy grotesque shapes oozing from behind. In addition, the exhibition will combine elements of sculpture and photography that explore shapes invoking gluttony. In the universe of cartoons everything is presumed fake, and nothing has much of a commitment to the assumed laws of alleged reality. The artist perceives in our consumer society a lack of commitments to unified cultural ideologies and semantic order in contemporary popular culture. Through this exhibition, Enos hopes to demonstrate an earnest commitment to his own subjective interpretations of cultural symbols from comics and cartoons. Paradoxically, it is a commitment to something inherently false, fluctuating, and flawed much like contemporary popular culture itself. Through this exhibit and this creative philosophy Enos hopes to create a truly “American” experience.
www.tjosephenos.com
www.evergoldgallery.com
