 Untitled (The Bee), 2006 Oil on panel, 10 x 8 inches Everest Hall Axis Mundi Bellwether is pleased to announce Everest Hall's second solo show entitled "Axis Mundi." The show's title, "Axis Mundi," refers to the world's center, which is, depending on one's representation or belief system, a spiritual entity connecting heaven and earth. By referencing this universal center Hall also directly alludes to the plumb line, a leveling device driven by gravity which a visual artist can employ to keep objects in perspective over time as it is an undeviating vertical line. Also, used by carpenters, bricklayers and metalworkers, the plumb line ensures whether something is completely vertical or not. Moving on from his blatant worship of the abject and what Holland Cotter called, "determinedly bottomshelf content", Hall turns his adroit technical skill to explore several motifs in his new work. For example, the artist has chosen the rattlesnake as a symbol of a being that sheds its skin and renews itself, and also, according to the artist, serves a protective role in guarding him against certain societal standards (such as wealth, status and the social structures inherent in contemporary culture). Skulls depicted in crystal, obsidian and amber, also reappear throughout the work as objects that scientifically date back to the beginning of man. They are at once historical and anthropological symbols but also, for Hall, things of beauty. By repeating such motifs, Hall induces the viewer into a meditative state. In rendering with meticulous precision elements like a hexagonal pattern, wood grains and luminous skulls the artist attempts to channel a universal energy and express its form through contemporary still life painting. Everest Hall received his MFA in painting from Yale University. His work was recently exhibited in Los Angeles at Acuna Hanson. His last solo at Bellwether, "I am Looking for Someone Lonely Like Me," received critical attention from the press including The New York Times and Flash Art. Hall's work has been featured in Domino Magazine and Details. Born in 1974, the artist lives and works in New York City. Exhibition: September 7 - October 7, 2006 Gallery hours: Tues-Sat 10 am - 6 pm Bellwether Gallery 134 Tenth Avenue (between 18th and 19th Streets) USA-New York, NY 10011 Telephone +1 212 929 5959 Email becky@bellwethergallery.com www.bellwethergallery.com |
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