gallery nine5 is pleased to present the work of New York based painter Steve Ellis. Working in the same vein as Rosenquist and Warhol, Ellis’ work simultaneously recalls and subverts the illusions of consumerism by featuring the objects that have come to be associated with it. His gleaming cars, broken shoes and crumpled up packages echo the look of advertising and his lighters, often painted over five feet tall and decorated with bright colors, scantily clad women and religious figures only serves to enhance the dichotomy between want and excess. These commonplace ideograms are recognized across border yet what’s more, is the deeper understanding of how what we crave often times gets us into trouble. This cautionary tale has been told before but using the contemporary language of pop culture, Ellis’ paintings speak to the every day person about the allure of materialism. Perhaps that is why his work has been shown throughout the globe, appearing in galleries as far as Tokyo and New Zealand and as close as New York City, Ellis demonstrates to media savvy community the ephemeral nature of commodity and its inevitable replacement.