Eric Firestone Gallery Presents: Seventh-Inning Stretch Curated by Carlo McCormick and Eric Firestone August 17 - September 9, 2013 Opening Reception: Saturday, August 17th, 6:00-9:00pm Artists include - Daniel Arsham, Slater Bradley, William Coupon, Carlton DeWoody, Sebastian Errazuriz, Tony Fitzpatrick, Elissa Goldstone, Susan Grayson, Jeanette Hayes, Neil Jenney, Deborah Kass, Hiro Kurata, Eva LeWitt, Justin Lowe & Jonah Freeman, Andrea Mary Marshall, Mint & Serf, Guy Overfelt, Raymond Pettibon, Garrett Pruter, Kathy Rudin, Tom Sanford, Shelter Serra, Randy Slack, Jim Thompson, JJ Veronis, Nari Ward, Eric White, Wendy White, Rob Wynne, and Dustin Yellin East Hampton, NY: Eric Firestone Gallery is pleased to announce the group exhibition Seventh-Inning Stretch, a selection of contemporary artworks exploring, employing and imploring our favorite national pastime, baseball. The exhibition does not delineate the sport's history nor ratify its tradition. Rather, McCormick explains that the show is "[a] modest sampling of some of the ways in which baseball has entered the lexicon of contemporary visual art; Seventh-Inning Stretch is hopefully a meditation on how and why we care. It is about the excitement we feel and the beauty of the boredom that borders on ennui." Oh, and we do care a whole lot! Whether it be the season or not, baseball is entrenched in American culture and safely protected by our state borders. It's ours, alone, not overrun by tourists nor affected by our globalized that iPhone generation. We're the only ones who understand it: we all know it, love it, hate it, follow it, play it, watch it, are bored by it, smell it, can nearly taste it, and empathize with it. Seventh-Inning Stretch provokes our inner child who manifests our heroes and imagines the make-believe land where they live. We collect relics remind us that this kind of magic can exist. Through visual recognition of cultural icons, William Coupon mimics such childish storylines with his Polaroid portrait series, intimately portraying every player on the 1979 New York Yankees team during spring training in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, including Reggie Jackson, Thurman Munson, Billy Martin, Bucky Dent, and others. William Coupon, Reggie Jackson Signed, 1979, Polaroid Sx70, 3h x 3w in Another two artists on view, Deborah Kass and Susan Grayson meditate on the sport itself, and slow down the simple mechanics that keep the game going, pulling apart an epic move that will change history. Here, we can trace the lines and contours of success. Better than an instant replay, these pieces are comprised of freeze-frame type shots to dissect the curveball and homerun, allowing you to study glinting greatness. Those who aren't familiar with the rules cannot deny baseball's command over American iconography and ideology. We use it all: the jargon, "homerun"; the tools, "baseball bat"; the people, "Babe Ruth"; the places, "Yankee Stadium"; the rivalry, "Dodgers-Giants"; the metaphor, "bases loaded," and; the snacks, "Cracker Jack." In poured and mirrored glass, Rob Wynne references this national passion through his piece titled, HOMER, 2013. Rob Wynne, Homer, 2013, Poured & Mirrored Glass in 5 Unique Pieces, 21h x 40w in For many, art is a physical outlet to express uncensored thoughts. However, art and daily life often are separated. Seventh-Inning Stretch confronts this canon by incorporating the universal sport into the gallery. About Eric Firestone Gallery Eric Firestone Gallery, established in New York in 2010, focuses on bringing contemporary and historic art, new genres and popular culture to the public. Eric Firestone Gallery represents a number of artists and estates and such projects as The Boneyard Project and Return Trip have garnered worldwide recognition. The gallery has been featured in Art in America, Bomb, Artnews, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, GQ, New York Magazine, Hampton's Magazine, Newsday and many other publications and websites. For press contact the gallery at: [email protected] 4 Newtown Lane | East Hampton | NY | 11937 631.604.2386 | [email protected] www.ericfirestonegallery.com .