David Ellingsen, David Robinson, and Jay Senetchko: Unseated

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Parker Projects, "Unseated," 2018

Reception October 25th, 5-9pm

Parker Projects is pleased to announce a collaboration with guest curator Pennylane Shen, who envisioned this exhibition showcasing three diverse artists, David Ellingsen, David Robinson, and Jay Senetchko working in different media.

Visitors will have their experience enriched by installations by anonymous.sculptor.society and The Automatic Message.

The artists in this exhibition employ the human form to scrutinize the experience and portrayal of struggle and resolve. Navigating a loss, be it material, psychological or social, requires transformation. These works reflect an emotional landscape that includes denial, grief, hope and acceptance, and the potential for emergence of a clearer resolve. Together they reveal that the unseating of deeply held convictions is an invitation to become a better version of the self.

David Ellingsen’s photographs are self-portraits of a man intimately relating to his natural world. The vulnerability of the figure, and the subtly supernatural and mythic elements, illustrate humankind’s inviolable connection to the natural world; a connection that is obfuscated by modern values. Ellingsen’s work serves as a potent reminder of that connection at a time when anthropogenic devastation of the planet is a catastrophic threat. Where that loss of connection manifests as a sense of humankind’s dominion over nature, Ellingsen’s work acts as a solvent, unraveling the mantle of detachment by modeling his own transformational process.

David Robinson’s sculptural figures act as a tuning fork, resonating at the fundamental frequency of humanity. Stripped of explicit context and overt identifying features, these figures reach beyond societal assumptions and speak to archetypal struggle. Each embodies a different stage in the confrontation of adversity. Varied in material and style, they find commonality in their portrayal of the dignity inherent in human struggle.

Jay Senetchko’s paintings raise questions about the problematic ways in which artistic traditions explore the human condition. Indelibly tainted by ideological context and personal bias, portrayals of struggle and heroism alike may undermine the humanity of the subjects painted. Senetchko cites the inversion of two traditions – the nude and Social Realism, as the central elements of these paintings. This necessitates the recognition that the viewer, and the social context from which they approach the artwork, are integral to the meaning of the art. Examining the meaning-making process, and the judgements that are sustained within it, is fundamental to engaging with this work.

The works in this show rely on the inexorable ties between personal meaning and engagement with loss. By exploring responsibility – to one’s own actions, expectations, and judgements, these works elucidate the humility and resolve required to transcend both the external and self-imposed limitations immanent in life.