Calvin Miceli-Nelson

Allen and Eldridge is pleased to present, Dramatica, a solo exhibition by Calvin Miceli-Nelson. Drawing from a set of vernacular images and found objects, the paintings present open-ended narratives woven into a series of grids.

Comprised of rocks, sticks, images, and hard edge painting techniques, the works reenact a form of communication that occurs underneath the weight of a restricted system. DIY projects, homespun promotional images, and user-submitted artworks, culled from online sources, take the form of castles, dogs, butterflies, martyrs, princesses, and hammers.

Within these compositions, simplified figures interact with more complex signifiers. Individual images chronicle a scene from a play in which a curse appears to be cast over a princess, the commodification of a political movement, the remains of widespread racial violence scattered on a chessboard, the products of gender constructs, and both titillating and alienating consumer goods.

Through the investigation and representation of these terms, the artist excavates the narratives sewn into these images and objects as they are forged into a larger drama and critique. The resulting paintings intertwine these elements into sterile evidence of an imagined communal narrative.

Calvin Miceli-Nelson (b. 1993) Received his BFA from Washington University in St. Louis in 2015. He lives and works in New York City. This is his first solo exhibition.