Exhibitions

PIE SHELF

Gallery 1010 (UTK) / 113 S. Gay St. August 4, 2016 - August 8, 2016

Elijah Fredrick

Painting for me has always been a form of indulgence. It allows me to leave everything else behind. Much in the way that a brownie or a piece of cake does, I achieve a temporary sense of happiness. For a small moment, after I have completed the painting, I am blissful.

These paintings attempt to create that same sensation one gets from eating something sweet. Full of sugar and fillers, sweets create a sense of happiness. But it is insincere. Fleeting. In the same way, my paintings are filled with crutches that I use to create aesthetically pleasing marks. I want the viewer to, at first, experience a sting of pleasure; however, upon reflection of the paintings, come to the realization that they are lacking. There is nothing under neither. They are just packed with fillers.

Can a painting generate the same blissfulness as a brownie?