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Edie Fake
Edie Fake, Open Source, detail, Institute for Contemporary Art, Richmond, Virginia, 2018. Photo: Terry Brown
Closed Body, 2018. Photo courtesy of the artist and Western Exhibitions, Chicago
The Balcony, 2018. Photo courtesy of the artist and Western Exhibitions, Chicago
Edie Fake
LIGHT IN THE VALLEY
Edie Fake’s detailed paintings blur lines between connection and solitude, architecture and body. In Light in the Valley the vibrating bolt of color could be read in many ways: is it a pathway, a discotheque dance floor, or transcendent energy? Other structures are embellished with elements that might be decorative, protective, or both. Similar to earlier works that tenderly reimagined facades of urban lesbian bars and gay nightclubs, these works reflect Fake’s interest in depicting “ecstatic queer architectures.” They also are influenced by his move from Chicago to the high desert of California, and by our rapidly changing social and political climate. Fake also creates comics and graphic novels that feature trans and gender-fluid characters such as Gaylord Phoenix.
ON VIEW
Mine (The Pits), 2018
Closed Body, 2018
Light in the Valley, 2018
Open Source, 2018
The Balcony, 2018
All works gouache on panel. All works courtesy of Western Exhibitions, Chicago
LOCATION
Gallery 2-3
“My heart and mind can swing so quickly these days from hope to despair. It’s a time where it’s important to be present and to try to nurture something better.” –Edie Fake
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU AS AN ARTIST?
The potential to work through an idea as something visual, to work towards an image that holds a thesis without words. To try to become eloquent at putting the pieces together.
PLEASE SHARE A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE WORK YOU’RE SHOWING IN DECLARATION
The pieces I have in Declaration are architectural gouache paintings about social connection and solitude. I’ve tried to visualize spaces that represent experiences of gender variance.
DO YOU BELIEVE ART HAS SOCIALLY TRANSFORMATIVE POWER?
Yes, I think it does, but art isn’t the only thing you need for socially transformative power. The transformative power comes from many people acting in many different settings–classrooms, work sites, clinics, homes. The arts can play a very visible role, but so can all the theaters of human experience.
Born 1980, Chicago, Illinois; Lives in Twentynine Palms, California
Edie Fake is a multimedia artist whose work includes books, zines, comics, drawings, tattoos, videos, installations, and performances. He is best known for his graphic drawings, which address themes of gender, sexuality, and queer identity.
Edie received his BFA from Rhode Island School of Art and Design. Select solo exhibitions: Marlborough Contemporary in New York, New York (2016); and Western Exhibitions in Chicago, Illinois (2016). Select group exhibitions: Samek Museum at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania (2016); Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality, University of Chicago, Illinois (2014); Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon (2012); and the Nikolaj Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark (2007). Collections include: Fidelity Investments Corporate Art Collection, Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, KS Thomas J. Watson Library, and MoMA. Select awards: Propeller Grant for The Chicago Alternative Comics (2012), Critical Fierceness Grant for queer art (2010); Ignatz Award for Outstanding Graphic Novel (2011), and Printed Matter’s Awards for Artists (2009).