Esther Pearl Watson
Words of Encouragement
Online
Online
Vielmetter Los Angeles is pleased to present our second online exhibition during this unprecedented and challenging time. “Words of Encouragement” is a series of new works by Esther Pearl Watson painted while in quarantine.
Watson created this series of ten paintings exclusively for online presentation. Through these new works, Watson explores the mental constructs she struggles with during the uncertainty of this global pandemic. Each of the paintings depicts what Watson calls “butterfly saucers” with tiny clipped-wings, aluminum foil, and found mirrors. Watson ruminates on the tattered way we build resilience, represented by clunky space ships that are grounded, stuck, and unable to launch just yet. Watson’s titles are sourced from sidewalk chalk writings, posters, and high school yearbooks which point toward naive optimism. Extending the sensibility of her memory paintings, Watson’s “Words of Encouragement” offer respite from the barrage of obstacles we are all currently facing. Phrases such as “It’s going to be awesome to hug again” and “Don’t count the days, make the days count,” float above scenes of children making paper dolls, vast skies, and friendly cows, reminding us we are all in this together and we will get through this difficult time.
Esther Pearl Watson (b. 1973) lives and works in Los Angeles, she received her MFA from California Institute of the Arts. Her paintings have been exhibited, amongst others, at Concord Center for the Visual Arts, Concord, MA, Contemporary Art Museum of Plainview, Plainview, TX, University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Parkside, WI, Maureen Paley Gallery in London, and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, USA. In 2013 she was Artist-in-Residence at Grafikiens Hus, Mariefred, Sweden. Her award-winning comic “Unlovable” is published in Bust Magazine and with Fantagraphics. She has published Blood Lady Commandos on Vice online and Welcome to Crapland on Adult Swim online. She has taught at Oxbow Artist Residency, the Lexicon of Sexicana at Columbia College in Chicago, and is currently teaching at ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, California.
Esther Pearl Watson “Don't count the days, Make the days count,” 2020 Acrylic, foil, foil paper, found mirror, graphite on panel 12 x 16" [HxW] (30.48 x 40.64 cm) Inventory #EPW223 Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles Photo credit: Jeff McLane 7,000.00 USD Inquire |
7,000.00 USD Inquire |
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Esther Pearl Watson “It's going to be Awesome to Hug Again,” 2020 Acrylic, foil, foil paper, found mirror, graphite on panel 12 x 16" [HxW] (30.48 x 40.64 cm) Inventory #EPW222 Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles Photo credit: Jeff McLane 7,000.00 USD Inquire |
7,000.00 USD Inquire |
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Esther Pearl Watson “Hang in There!,” 2020 Acrylic, foil, foil paper, found mirror, graphite on panel 12 x 16" [HxW] (30.48 x 40.64 cm) Inventory #EPW221 Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles Photo credit: Jeff McLane 7,000.00 USD Inquire |
7,000.00 USD Inquire |
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Esther Pearl Watson “This Too Shall Pass,” 2020 Acrylic, foil, foil paper, found mirror, graphite on panel 24 x 24" [HxW] (60.96 x 60.96 cm) Inventory #EPW220 Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles Photo credit: Jeff McLane 9,000.00 USD Inquire |
9,000.00 USD Inquire |
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Esther Pearl Watson “No Matter What Others Will Be, Always Be Yourself,” 2020 Acrylic, foil, foil paper, graphite on panel 8 x 10" [HxW] (20.32 x 25.4 cm) Inventory #EPW219 Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles Photo credit: Jeff McLane 5,000.00 USD Inquire |
5,000.00 USD Inquire |
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Esther Pearl Watson “Thanks For Always Being There,” 2020 Acrylic, foil, foil paper, graphite on panel 8 x 10" [HxW] (20.32 x 25.4 cm) Inventory #EPW218 Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles Photo credit: Jeff McLane 5,000.00 USD Inquire |
5,000.00 USD Inquire |
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Esther Pearl Watson “Thank You For All the Hard Work You Put Into Teaching Me,” 2020 Acrylic, foil, foil paper, found mirror, graphite on panel 12 x 16" [HxW] (30.48 x 40.64 cm) Inventory #EPW217 Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles Photo credit: Jeff McLane 7,000.00 USD Inquire |
7,000.00 USD Inquire |
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Esther Pearl Watson “Don't Forget! Wash Your Hands,” 2020 Acrylic, foil, foil paper, found mirror, graphite on panel 12 x 16" [HxW] (30.48 x 40.64 cm) Inventory #EPW216 Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles Photo credit: Jeff McLane 7,000.00 USD Inquire |
7,000.00 USD Inquire |
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Esther Pearl Watson “Say Out Loud It's Going to be OK,” 2020 Acrylic, foil, foil paper, found mirror, graphite on panel 12 x 16" [HxW] (30.48 x 40.64 cm) Inventory #EPW215 Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles Photo credit: Jeff McLane 7,000.00 USD Inquire |
7,000.00 USD Inquire |
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Esther Pearl Watson “We Are All In This Together,” 2020 Acrylic, foil, foil paper, found mirror, graphite on panel 12 x 16" [HxW] (30.48 x 40.64 cm) Inventory #EPW214 Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles Photo credit: Jeff McLane 7,000.00 USD Inquire |
7,000.00 USD Inquire |
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