Eric Schultz | Mechanical Moments

September 30 - October 21, 2017 | Reception: Saturday, September 30, 6 - 8 pm

Morpeth Contemporary is pleased to present, "Mechanical Moments," Eric Schultz's first solo show at the gallery. The area's premiere found object artist, Schultz is best known for transforming defunct and discarded objects into sculpture.  From large-scale, publically commissioned pieces to smaller robots and animals, he is a leader in this contemporary—and highly unconventional—form of art.

While fragments of machinery compose his work, it is his re-imagining of them--from inanimate to animate, from standard parts to distinct personalities--that sets his pieces apart. In this show, Schultz takes his cue from stories from his own life, universal tales, and characters that combine the two.  Major sculptures and wall pieces include Dire Straits, a ship-at-sea depiction of struggle; Face Off, a scorpion and snake metaphor for being at odds; Gilgamesh, a “life-size” imagining from the classic myth; and Mustache and Monocle, a discerning and meticulously-wrought bust.

Already recognized for his ingenious use of "you-name-it as material," this show exhibits Schultz’s equally impressive range of emotion, and his ability to toggle--from one piece to the next--from pathos to humor.

Grounds For Sculpture partnered with Schultz for the 2010 Artist in Residence program, during which he worked alongside community volunteers to create a sculpture, entitled "Sleeping Giant," made of donated found objects.  Previous shows include a solo exhibition at Noyes Museum in 2014 and a group exhibition called "And Now For Something Completely Different..." in 2015 at Morpeth.