Eleven Rivington is pleased to present a solo exhibition of new painted paper constructions by Brooklyn-based artist Chris Caccamise and a solo project of recent abstract paintings by Lower East Side artist Erik Hanson. The concurrent exhibitions – on view from March 21 through April 20 – are the first solos for both artists at Eleven Rivington. An artist book accompanies each presentation: Caccamise’s self-titled book is published by Eleven Rivington and Hanson’s ‘A Year of Playlists’ is by Regency Arts Press. Both artists poeticize simple forms and ideas, making work in sculpture and painting which embrace the appeal of quiet dissonance.

Chris Caccamise cuts and constructs by hand seemingly common objects and text pieces in high gloss relief. Using knife, blade, and scissors, he cuts Bristol paper and then paints in shiny enamel versions of inanimate but highly personal items such as a favorite CD or magazine, eyeglasses, a coffee mug, or pocket knife. By painstakingly re-creating them, he makes these mass-produced possessions more playful – almost toy-like – but also makes one question their intended specific meaning and utilitarian purpose in the real world. In addition, the artist’s keen and witty sense of color provides a lightness of touch that belies their precise and meticulous creation. The exhibition includes three seemingly ordinary broken branches, but as presented by Caccamise, one reconsiders the protective skin of their dark brown bark and also the respective tree’s accumulated age. In the text pieces such as ‘The Long and Winding Road’ and ‘Lost in Space No One Can Hear You Scream’ the artist alludes to pop-culture references – including music and sci-fi movies – that have both a public collective and personal resonance. As in all his work, Cacccamise forces the viewer to reconsider the function of objects and things, words and phrases, and to suggest a deep connection to one’s private and individual life.

Born 1975, Caccamise was educated at Rutgers University and the School of Visual Arts, and currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. He has exhibited in solo and group shows at Sixtyseven Gallery, NY; The Sculpture Center, NY; Greenberg Van Doren, NY; Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, NY; and Peres Projects, LA, among others. Reviews and articles include The New York Times, Flash Art International, ArtNews, and Time Out New York. This is the artist’s third solo exhibition in New York.

Erik Hanson’s project for Eleven Rivington will consist of a salon-style hanging of numerous intimately scaled paintings in oil on canvas. Depicting paint store color charts and bars, these colorful ‘one-off’ paintings are created in one sitting and completed within the span of a short pop rock song that the artist listens to while making the work. A lifelong musician and DJ, the artist has always made the connection between music and abstraction, which are considered the two most ‘conceptual’ forms of art. Hanson intuitively brings them together, creating catchy and infectious paintings. Hanson has exhibited his work in NY and abroad for almost 20 years and is a long time resident – and pioneer – of New York’s Lower East Side.