Press Release - REAL ICKY by Erik Bender
First Amendment Gallery
REAL ICKY
Erik Bender
Opening Reception - August 3rd, 7-10pm
Showing Through - August 30th
info@firstamendmentgallery.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - First Amendment Gallery is pleased to announce, “REAL ICKY,” a new solo exhibition by Bay Area artist, Erik Bender. Initially under the influence of urban life and graffiti culture, Bender’s subjects exist in a mysterious world built by personal iconography and style. For “REAL ICKY,” Bender muses on the unknown and unfamiliar, maneuvering his expansive letterform characters in expressionist shapes to create an energetic visual dialog chronicling the many facets of the human condition.
Set in a noir-esque city of heightened tension and high stakes, Bender’s wide-eyed, youthful figures employ magic to duck around corners and tuck into the cuts, hiding from the spectral forces of the law. Carved plaster reliefs referred to as tablets, with surfaces treated with pigment and slathered with paint, emphasize the physicality of this bold figuration, often reminiscent of the concrete fixtures and surfaces the artist once used as his canvas. Decisive yet blind movements are a reflection of Bender’s recent strides as he embraces curiosity and personal evolution, not only leaving his mark but carving himself a permanent space.
Erik Bender (b. 1990) is a Bay Area-born and based interdisciplinary artist. He received a BA from the University of California Berkeley in Art Practice in 2017 and has been shown in various contemporary galleries in the Bay Area including Good Mother Gallery (Oakland), pt. 2 Gallery (Oakland), and the Luggage Store (San Francisco).
First Amendment Gallery invites you to join us for the opening reception of “REAL ICKY” on Saturday August 3rd from 7-10pm at 1000 Howard St. San Francisco. For further inquiries on the artist or available works, please contact info@1amsf.com.