Artist Statement For Aaron, relief holds both an emotional and a physical connotation; both the lifting of a burden and the description of an object with forms that protrude from a planar surface. In his work, Aaron explores the ways in which these connotations can inform each other through the creation of hand-carved wooden reliefs.
Wood, a material grown from the earth, is transformed into an entirely human-created form, the car; embodying the just-as-human longing for freedom and individualization through the construction of a privatized space, perfectly designed to accommodate human desires. The car can thus act as a bridge between private and public spaces and models a division of the interior and exterior both physically and psychologically. In Aaron’s work, the car window acts as an intermediary between private and public space. One can see in through a tinted lens, darkening the figures within to a murky silhouette. One can also see out; the window instead acting as a framing device for the world around them. What we see while driving, the girl crying by the dumpster behind a bar, the homeless man begging for change at a red light, the tender caress of a couple in another car, only intended for them two; all of this we see from the frame of our car window, whether a frame of removal, of voyeurism, of safety, or alienation. The window frame acts as a recognition of a state of self-consciousness, the ever-present awareness of our body, presence, perspective, and the limits to which those extend. |
CV
Education:
2024 MFA, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI (anticipated)
2024 Certificate in Collegiate Teaching in Art and Design, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI (anticipated)
2020 BFA, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2020 Certificate, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Residencies:
2019 Yale Norfolk Summer Art Residency, Norfolk, CT
Group Exhibitions:
2024 What Lovers Do, FLAG Art Foundation, New York City, NY
RISD MFA Thesis Exhibition, Dunkin Donuts Convention Center, Providence, RI
Biomes, CCS Bard Hessel Museum, Dutchess County, NY
Joy Ride, Warner Gallery, Millbrook, NY
Rubrica, Gelman Gallery, Providence, RI
2023 A Room with a View, Vardan Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
In the Heat of the Night, Andrew Reed Gallery, New York City, NY
Painting with Butter, Sol Koffler Gallery, Providence, RI
2022 The Bathroom Show, Monya Rowe Gallery, New York City, NY
RISD Painting Triennial, Woods-Gerry Gallery, Providence, RI
5 to Watch, Avery Galleries, Bryn Mawr, PA
2021 Elements, Milcon Gallery, Virtual
2020 AXA Art Prize, New York Academy of Fine Arts, New York City, NY
B.A.S.E., Anna Zorina Gallery, Virtual
BFA 2020, Serving the People, Virtual
PAFA Emerging Artists, The Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA
The Art Student Exhibition, William Way LGBT Community Center, Philadelphia, PA
PAFA Alumni Exhibit, Borrelli's Chestnut Hill Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2019 118th Annual Student Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Stonewall @ 50, Leonard Pearlstein Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
14th Annual Juried Art Exhibition, William Way LGBT Community Center, Philadelphia, PA
2018 117th Annual Student Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
WayGay's 2018 Juried Exhibition, William Way LGBT Community Center, Philadelphia, PA
2017 Philly Art Schools Show, Kimmel Center for Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2016 National Youngarts Awards Showcase Exhibition, Sotheby’s Auction House, New York, NY
Chashama’s Pre-Gala Kickoff Party, 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY
Linked: Philly Art Schools, Gallery 128, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Long Island’s Best Young Artists, Hecksher Museum of Art, Huntington, NY
Awards:
2023 The Grad Commons Grant
2020 The Fine Arts Venture Fund Award
2019 The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant
The Raymond D. & Estelle Rubens Travel Scholarship
The Fine Arts Venture Fund Award
The Gamblin Paint Prize
Publications:
2023 New American Paintings, MFA ANNUAL #165
Public Collections:
Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Curating:
2020 Gilbert Lewis: Awkward Tenderness, William Way LGBT Community Center, Philadelphia, PA
2024 MFA, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI (anticipated)
2024 Certificate in Collegiate Teaching in Art and Design, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI (anticipated)
2020 BFA, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2020 Certificate, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Residencies:
2019 Yale Norfolk Summer Art Residency, Norfolk, CT
Group Exhibitions:
2024 What Lovers Do, FLAG Art Foundation, New York City, NY
RISD MFA Thesis Exhibition, Dunkin Donuts Convention Center, Providence, RI
Biomes, CCS Bard Hessel Museum, Dutchess County, NY
Joy Ride, Warner Gallery, Millbrook, NY
Rubrica, Gelman Gallery, Providence, RI
2023 A Room with a View, Vardan Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
In the Heat of the Night, Andrew Reed Gallery, New York City, NY
Painting with Butter, Sol Koffler Gallery, Providence, RI
2022 The Bathroom Show, Monya Rowe Gallery, New York City, NY
RISD Painting Triennial, Woods-Gerry Gallery, Providence, RI
5 to Watch, Avery Galleries, Bryn Mawr, PA
2021 Elements, Milcon Gallery, Virtual
2020 AXA Art Prize, New York Academy of Fine Arts, New York City, NY
B.A.S.E., Anna Zorina Gallery, Virtual
BFA 2020, Serving the People, Virtual
PAFA Emerging Artists, The Plastic Club, Philadelphia, PA
The Art Student Exhibition, William Way LGBT Community Center, Philadelphia, PA
PAFA Alumni Exhibit, Borrelli's Chestnut Hill Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2019 118th Annual Student Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Stonewall @ 50, Leonard Pearlstein Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
14th Annual Juried Art Exhibition, William Way LGBT Community Center, Philadelphia, PA
2018 117th Annual Student Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
WayGay's 2018 Juried Exhibition, William Way LGBT Community Center, Philadelphia, PA
2017 Philly Art Schools Show, Kimmel Center for Performing Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2016 National Youngarts Awards Showcase Exhibition, Sotheby’s Auction House, New York, NY
Chashama’s Pre-Gala Kickoff Party, 1 World Trade Center, New York, NY
Linked: Philly Art Schools, Gallery 128, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Long Island’s Best Young Artists, Hecksher Museum of Art, Huntington, NY
Awards:
2023 The Grad Commons Grant
2020 The Fine Arts Venture Fund Award
2019 The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant
The Raymond D. & Estelle Rubens Travel Scholarship
The Fine Arts Venture Fund Award
The Gamblin Paint Prize
Publications:
2023 New American Paintings, MFA ANNUAL #165
Public Collections:
Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Curating:
2020 Gilbert Lewis: Awkward Tenderness, William Way LGBT Community Center, Philadelphia, PA