Odyssey of Invention
Michele Brody & Ernest Concepcion
April 18 - May 18, 2021
Odyssey of Invention presents two selections of drawings by Michele Brody and Ernest Concepcion that examine the subject of roots while reflecting on the notion of time. As this point continues to move forward, the 20 works on view in this exhibition strike a balance between illusion and austerity.
Odyssey of Invention also focuses on subjects that both make and remake themselves. Michele Brody’s sprouted seed drawings are serendipitous, depending on how far a sprout has grown before the mulch, within which it has been planted, has dried. Ernest Concepcion’s compositions incorporate swift, dense-moving lines that arc from one point to another while suggesting figures, caricatures and mysterious primates that all reveal nature as an uneven metaphor.
Ernest Concepcion. Cops vs Cops plus Donuts (2021), ink and colored pencil on paper, 12” x 15”.
Michele Brody. Reaching, (August 2011), handmade abaca paper embedded with flax sprout roots, 8.5” x 11”.
Ernest Concepcion. FIST FLUFF, (2020) acrylic, ink, colored pencil, glue on paper, 15” x 22”.
Michele Brody. Gold Star (November 2017), handmade abaca paper embedded with flax sprout roots, graphite, 8.5” x 11” - unframed.
Michele Brody. Drawing Roots: Trellis (September 2014), recycled handmade flax paper within which flax seeds were sprouted, 9.5” x 8.5”.
Michele Brody. Fencing (2014), handmade Paper with sprouted flax seeds, 6” x 7.25”.
Michele Brody. Illuminated I (December 2017), handmade paper embedded with flax sprout roots, 8.5” x 11” - unframed.
Ernest Concepcion. CHEERFUL-HEARTED (2020), acrylic, ink, colored pencil, glue on paper, 20" x26".
Ernest Concepcion. HAUS PANIC (2020), acrylic, ink, colored pencil, glue, oil pastel on paper, 26" x 20".
Ernest Concepcion. SNEEZE SNEERIEZ no.386 (2020), acrylic, ink, colored pencil, glue on paper, 20" x 13".
Ernest Concepcion. SNEEZE SNEERIEZ no.291 (2020), acrylic, ink, colored pencil, glue on paper, 20" x 13".
Ernest Concepcion. SNEEZE SNEERIEZ no.419 (2020), acrylic, ink, colored pencil, glue on paper, 20" x 13".
Michele Brody. HARLEM ROOTS: MARCUS GARVEY HOUSE BOOK (August 2016), handmade and hand dyed sheets of abaca/cotton paper encased in beeswax in the form of a free standing accordion fold book representing a row of Harlem brownstones. Composed of multiple layers of paper, sprouted seeds and their roots, these ghost-like images represent Harlem’s complex history of development, Renaissance, de - cline and current gentrification resulting in the uprooting of long time residents, 12” x 16” x 4.25”.
Michele Brody. HARLEM ROOTS: ROW (March 2016), handmade paper, flax and wheatgrass sprouts, beeswax, 17” x 23” x 1”.
Michele Brody. HARLEM ROOTS: NORTH SIDE 119th STREET (November 2013), handmade and hand dyed sheets of abaca/cotton paper in the form of free standing accordion fold book representing an historic row of Harlem brownstones. The pages are embedded with uniquely formed watermarks that are set aglow by a light placed behind. Composed of multiple layers of paper, sprouted seeds and their roots, these ghost-like images of the surrounding architecture represent Harlem’s complex history of development, Renaissance, decline and current gentrification. 11” x 42” x 4.25”.
Michele Brody. Borderlines (November 2019), background of handmade abaca paper with layer of US/Mexican border watermark made from day lily leaves harvested in The Bronx covered by layer of handmade kozo paper from mulberry tree chopped down in Brooklyn, 15.5” x 12.75”.
Ernest Concepcion. REMEMBER YOUR ANCESTORS (2020), acrylic, ink, colored pencil, glue on paper, 22" x 15".
Ernest Concepcion. POWER BALLAD (2020), acrylic, ink, colored pencil, glue, oil pastel on paper, 20" x 26".
Michele Brody. Rye Grass Field (August 2017), handmade abaca paper, rye grass gathered from the NY Botanical Garden, 9” x 12”- unframed.
Ernest Concepcion. WHAT´S LEFT (2020), acrylic, ink, colored pencil, glue on paper, 20” x 26”.