Topographies and Tantrums

Hooks-Epstein Galleries is proud to present "Topographies and Tantrums", an exhibition of intricate paper/mixed media formations, sculptural works, and wearable art, by Houston-based artist, Edward Lane McCartney. The exhibition will open at 11:00AM on Saturday, February 22, 2020, with an Artist Talk at 5:30PM, followed by the Opening Reception from 6:00-8:00PM. The show will continue through Saturday, March 28, 2020. The latest body of work by Edward Lane McCartney converges as a culminating point of endless conversations and ruminations over recent years as to the identity of his work and the identity of himself as an artist. As its title suggests, "Topographies and Tantrums" presents as a show in two parts—as an expression of joy and self-exuberance and as an exclamation of thought-provoking, aesthetically intriguing, and environmentally/visually inspired works. Part one, 'Topographies', began after McCartney made a pilgrimage in the Spring of 2016 to the Southwestern U.S., traveling through the basins, plains, and varied geography of the region and connecting with Hopi people and culture. At every point throughout his trip, he met with various Hopi potters, participating in extensive discussions about the work. At the conclusion of this experience, McCartney began to explore further into the concepts of surroundings, landscape, and topography and translated these concepts into his cardboard/mixed media works through the abstraction of textures, shapes, and earthen hues. In part two, 'Tantrums', McCartney resolves his own crisis of identity with the self-realization that the works he creates are as much a part of himself and his creative practice as the externally influenced works. Many of these pieces include objects or materials that he is drawn to taking out of common context and creating something whimsical and unexpected, such as his assembled boxes. McCartney calls these tantrums “as they are creative expressions that need to be made, quickly, without regard of a singular immediate context…[if] I don’t stop and make them now, then when? It is not from a lack of discipline but the enthusiasm of now”. Edward Lane McCartney resides in Houston, TX, where he has been creating art since 1999. Most recently, in 2019, McCartney had a solo exhibition, "Case Studies", at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft (HCCC). Also, in 2019, select group exhibitions featuring McCartney’s work included "Seeing Ourselves: Visual and Verbal Self-Portraits and Selfies" at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston (MFAH) and shows at the Rubin Center for the Visual Arts (El Paso, TX) and Museum of Texas Tech University (Lubbock, TX). He has studied at the Glassell School of Art (MFAH) and served as the Board President of HCCC, from where he is a former participant in their Artist in Residence Program. McCartney remains active in the local arts community.