Erik Esso
Reshaping Immediacy
His fascination for the materials shaping our everyday life, for their immediacy which often remains unnoticed, is made obvious within Erik Esso’s artistic practice. Despite his young age, the German artist has already experimented with all sorts of materials, from found objects to metal, concrete, plastic or even toilet paper, to name a few. He gathers them from the streets, stores them in his studio and examines them. Perhaps driven by his intuition or by sudden inspiration that arose from his extensive research, he shapes the materials, cuts them out or fixes them on canvas. In doing so, he obscures their original purpose. In the end, the process of researching and shaping the material according to its physical qualities results in his wall-mounted objects: cut out and coloured pieces of aluminium, old advertising plates engraved or scratched – every mark made as a manifestation of the artist’s emotions.
Changing perspective
By recycling found objects and materials, by reshaping and combining them with drawings or photographs, Erik Esso challenges the borders of artistic media. His objects pay homage to the medium of painting and question it at the same time. He goes beyond the medium and the object itself – beyond what they used to be, beyond the history that has been previously inscribed into them. Perhaps the Langnese advertising plates have been hanging in front of a café, maybe the wooden laminate used to cover the floor of someone’s home. The only hint we get is the one created by our imaginations. His works of art leave room for association, for a reality that expands beyond our perception of everyday life. «I’m a researcher, I’m searching for new perspectives on things in our life», Esso once said.
Put in new shape and context, the material’s original purpose remains obscure. This leaves us with a new perspective on the common and familiar that we used to overlook. Inscribed on the objects remain Esso’s scratches that the spectator can now decipher – blending his or her interpretation with personal memories and emotions. Erik Esso challenges our ways of seeing, and asks: Are we still able to express our feelings? Or to perceive other people’s feelings? Are we still able to search for new perspectives?
Text by Giulia Bernardi
View of Erik Esso's studio.
Biography Erik Esso
born 1999 in Fulda, Germany
lives and works in Leipzig, Germany
Education
since 2018 Fine Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich, Germany / Painting and Graphics, Class Prof. Gregor Hildebrandt
Exhibitions (selection)
2020
Der River, Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei, Leipzig, Germany
Alles in seinen Rahmen, Nevvengallery, Göteborg, Sweden
The Fragile Edge, Majolika Karlsruhe, Germany
2019
Drawing Wow, BCMA, Berlin, Germany
Modifikation – Glue, Kunstquartier Bethanien, Germany
IT EM, Luis Leu, Karlsruhe, Germany
2018
International Independent Art Fair, New York, USA
decideART London, United Kingdom
That‘s allright mama, Kunstraum XXY, Berlin, Germany
Residencies
2019
Residency Alte Nudelfabrik, Zeitz, Germany
Residency Banditto Gallery, Montefollonico Tuscany, Italy
Works by Erik Esso
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sold
Strive
2020 / 70s fabric / 80 x 60 cm / 31.5 x 23.6 in
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sold
Ptte
2019 / Aluminum checker plate and plexiglass / 23 x 17 cm / 9.1 x 6.7 in
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sold
Fz
2020 / Wood laminate / 90 x 75 cm / 35.4 x 29.5 in
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sold
Qr
2020 / Wood laminate / 90 x 75 cm / 35.4 x 29.5 in
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sold
Citykino
2020 / Original Langnese advertising plates / 146 x 112 cm / 57.5 x 44.1 in
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sold
Zq2
2020 / Aluminum, lacquer / 80 x 70 cm / 31.5 x 27.6 in