FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FEBRUARY 2009

JEFFREY WELLS

MURALS FROM THE EYE TO THE SKY

February 13 - March 28, 2009

Opening reception Friday, February 13, 5 to 8 pm

De Soto Gallery opens in Culver City on February 13, 2009, presenting a solo exhibition by installation artist, Jeffrey Wells. In addition to video projections, there are new printed works.

Jeffrey Wells is concerned with the things we’re not sure we see. His works are designed to mimic and document the strange little flickers and blips that sometimes occur in the eye itself, like retinal afterimages and other entoptic phenomena. Wells plays with themes of paranoia and hallucination, concentrating on the physical act of looking and questioning how clearly and similarly we actually see things.

The idea that the relationship between object and viewer is reflexive, that one affects the other, is the starting point for Murals from the Eye to the Sky. In the sparseness of the gallery, typically unnoticeable retinal effects are easier to apprehend.

Wells’ video animations are barely perceptible. “Video to Accompany Staring at a White Wall” replicates the bright glow and ghost images that appear after staring into bright light for a few seconds. The sequence is a re-creation of what Wells himself saw by performing the exercise repeatedly. At certain points, it is not discernible what is native to the video and what is a function of your own vision. It calls into question the boundaries between objective and subjective, real and unreal, mine and yours.

Wells’ methodology is often self-referential, interactive, and marked by its preciseness. “Looking at My Left Through My Right (While Looking at My Right Through My Left)” maps the spectral color shift between Wells’ right and left eyes, a variance common among most people and noticeable if given attention. The print is a cutout of the shape that Wells’ shadow casts upon a wall at arms length away. It is a self-portrait that functions like a mirror, a tool to discover the peculiarities of your own vision by following his example.

There is a sense of compulsion and preoccupation about Wells’ practice that taps into any reservations we might have about the definiteness and reliability of our sight. At first glance, “Corner One (Wavering)” looks just like a regular corner of a room except at certain intervals it ripples, decomposing and re-assembling before your eyes. The effect is so slight that it’s easy to miss. By casting doubt on the purity of vision, Wells transmogrifies the gallery space into a malleable environment unique to each individual that gives it the chance to happen.

Jeffery Wells’ work has been exhibited recently at Marianne Boesky Gallery in New York and reviewed by Jerry Saltz. He received his M.F.A. from UCLA in 2006. Currently, Wells lives and works in Joshua Tree, California.