Middlebury student artist and Spanish Studies major displays images inspired by travels in Barcelona at M Gallery.
Ethan Mann, a Middlebury College senior and Spanish Studies Major will display a series of paintings and photographs reflecting on his studies abroad in Spain. Previously, Mann’s work has been displayed on the artist collective portion of Gawker.com. Mann’s photographic work displays a fascination with cultural detritus and his paintings depict a world of symbols and narrative.
While living in Barcelona in 2010, Mann undertook a unique exploration of Spanish culture by photographing the layers of posters and fliers that have built up on public bulletin boards and back alleys. Similar to the esteemed New Realist artist Jacques Villegle, Mann chooses the brutally honest but personal scraps of posters and graffiti marks as his inspiration. These photos remind the viewer of the signs of advertising, the consumption of a material society, and the traces each of us leaves on the world around us.
In contrast to his photographs, Mann’s paintings depict a simpler world which emphasizes the connection between symbols and encourages inward reflection. In his graphically bold and dreamlike images, Mann offers the viewer a safe haven in which to ponder binaries, the infinite, and the symbolic.
Mann credits his imagery as being highly influenced by film directors such as Pedro Almodóvar, Woody Allen, David Lynch, and Sergio Leone. Foremost among artistic inspirations, Mann counts Giorgio de Chirico, Basquiat, Marc Chagall, and Cezanne.
The opening reception for Ethan Mann’s exhibition IBERIA will be Friday, March 2nd from 8-10pm at M Gallery, #3 Mill Street, Middlebury, Vermont. IBERIA runs from March 2nd until March 12th. For more information please visit TheMGallery.org.
