Mari Eastman: In Situ

Goldfinch is proud to present In Situ, a solo exhibition of new paintings by Mari Eastman. This is Eastman's first solo show in Chicago in a number of years, and will be accompanied by a limited edition zine-style publication based on selected pages from the artist's notebooks. Mari Eastman: In Situ will include several new large-scale canvases, numerous smaller paintings on paper, and an installation in the form of a multi-media recreation of the artist's studio workspace.

Drawing from sources ranging from fashion magazines, Asian decorative arts, vintage fabric patterns and her own wistful memories of the past, Mari Eastman makes paintings that, whether imposingly large or scaled to the size of a magazine page, have an off-hand intimacy that is more typically associated with drawing. Regardless of size, Eastman's images call attention to the complex allure of surface beauty, especially as it is expressed in fashion, which has the power to transform our bodies into walking works of art that speak to who we are (or, in the case of vintage fashion, who we once were), how we see ourselves, and who we long to be. Eastman's fascination with fashion lies not only in an interest in trends or the trappings of wealth, but also in fashion's timeless ability to function as a repository of historical, cultural and social memory-and of course, as a rich source of inspiration for painting. The exhibition at Goldfinch-a contemporary project space embedded within a building that is filled with artists' studios-will also include a recreation of Eastman's own studio environment, and will be accompanied by a limited edition publication featuring selected notes and drawings from her 2015 sketchbook.

Artist Bio:
Mari Eastman holds an MFA from the Art Institute of Chicago. She has exhibited at the Hammer Museum (Los Angeles), Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, The Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles), The Orange County Museum of Art (Newport Beach), the Berkeley Museum of Art, Monte Clark Gallery (Vancouver), Cherry and Martin Gallery (Los Angeles), Victoria Miro (London), Colette (Paris), Barbara Gladstone Gallery (New York), and numerous other venues. Her work has been included in such publications as Modern Painters, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Flash Art, The New Yorker, and on artforum .com. Eastman lives and works in Chicago and is on the faculty of SAIC's Painting & Drawing department.