Eric Firestone Gallery is pleased to present Joe Overstreet: Selected Works, 1975-1982. In these works, Overstreet (1933-2019) experimented with paint application and painting supports: using techniques like pouring, cutting and attaching strips and lengths of paint in a Fibonacci pattern, and using wood dowels to create shaped canvas supports that evoke nomadic structures and indigenous traditions. On view will be work from his Vineyard series, his Sea Songs series, and his Fibonacci paintings.
This is the gallery’s second solo exhibition of work by Overstreet, and the first exhibition since the artist’s passing in June 2019. The Vineyard and Fibonacci paintings demonstrate a progression from his “Flight Pattern” paintings of the 1970s (unstretched canvases tethered to the wall by ropes) into a continued exploration of how paint could be applied to surfaces. Most notably, in this late 1970s work, he began applying and mixing acrylic color on plastic sheets, peeling off forms, and adhering them to canvases with acrylic gel medium. It was an incredibly productive, free period of experimentation. In addition to pouring, Overstreet would use a multitude of tools to drip paint and mix it, creating variegated effects on the surfaces.