Ellon Gibbs from East Flatbush, New York is a interdisciplinary artist currently making paintings and sculptures. Entering his studio you are immediately confronted with the work adorning the walls. Huge canvases on resting milk crates, stacked hiding their counterparts, drawings thumbtacked looming over it all. The work seemed to all speak at once, a jumble of noise all in the same language. However, approaching each painting the subject speaks clearly. Bodies contorting themselves sprawling across the canvas. Distinct faces lacking in features but brimming with substance caught in a staring contest. I talked to Ellon about the messaging of the work, his near death experience that led to this work, his upcoming endeavors and solo exhibition.
The driving force behind this body of work is chaos and pollution. This body of work comments on the pollution of the mind. Ellon believes that most of what the public consumes is polluted. We all consume polluted products, contribute to global warming, and our systems are corrupt and broken. His paintings are his method of creating a healthier relationship with the unavoidable nature of these truths while displaying the wrath they impose. “I want to be real and sit with the pain that's going on around me and it becomes more realistic. Instead of just trying to ignore it… this is just me facing it.”
These characters came to Ellon while he was dealing with a major health issue. For months Ellon’s body broke down and he was bedridden for 5 months. The doctor said he could have died had he not gotten evaluated sooner. Fatigued and unable to digest food, these characters came to him. Their bestowment upon Ellon practice feels harmonious. His difficulties and acceptance of life’s irony shine through their painted forms.
Ellon places his subjects in environments that contribute to this commentary. The subjects are in fields of reddish brown grass with glowing skies and dark dusted horizons. Some paintings depict the subject's silhouettes facing off into the distance, their identities hidden but their agony apparent through their contorted positioning. Others are more confrontational, poised towards the viewer. Some even pose menacingly. While many of the paintings are portraits of Ellon’s characters. Their gazes are unmistakable and intensely emotive and unnervingly playful.
Ellon is preparing for his first solo exhibition where he will exhibit some of these works along with pieces of other mediums at Europa Gallery in June.