Hales is proud to announce representation of Ebony G. Patterson, following the artist’s first solo exhibition, …to dig between the cuts, beneath the leaves, below the soil…, at Hales New York in 2019. Patterson’s second solo exhibition with the gallery will be held at Hales London in 2021.
In an expansive and complex practice, Patterson (b. 1981 Kingston, Jamaica; lives and works in Kingston, Jamaica and Chicago, IL, USA) addresses visibility and invisibility, through explorations of class, race, gender, youth culture, pageantry and acts of violence, within the context of “post-colonial” spaces. With the strong sensibility of a painter, Patterson works across multiple media – including tapestry, photography, sculpture, drawing, video and installation – united by her consistent visual language and intention. Each work is intricately embellished and densely layered, in order to draw the viewer closer and to question how we engage in the act of looking.
Entrancing and colorful, Patterson’s works command the viewer to look beyond their rich formal characteristics and to acknowledge the realities of social injustice. Using the paradoxical to convey important messages, she draws on the far-reaching vernaculars of art history, religious imagery, botanical tomes and popular culture. Patterson states that she uses beauty to trap the viewer ‘physically, psychologically and emotionally’ (2018) in intricate and seducing compositions. Shrouding figures almost completely, the artist raises pertinent questions about the those who are invisible or un-visible in society.
In September 2020, Patterson’s solo exhibition …when the cuts erupt…the garden rings…and the warning is a wailing… will open at Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, MO, USA. Her first solo European exhibition opens at Kunsthal Aarhus, Denmark in November 2020. Patterson’s works are included in upcoming biennials in Liverpool and Athens opening in Spring 2021.
As part of this new relationship, we look forward to collaborating with Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago, USA, who has represented Patterson since 2011.