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eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bender-webb in the twenty-first century

untitled 2.0

eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bender-webb in the twenty-ď&#x20AC; rst century

spring | 2017 april 7 - may 2

untitled 2.0 a gallery on the corner of 6th & g street 119 se 6th street, grants pass, or 97526 dewayne thomas lumpkin 541.761.9978 | untitled2gallery.com

copyright © 2017 untitled 2.0

all rights reserved no portion of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission of the publisher

this monograph is published in conjunction with the exhibition e’ bender-webb in the twenty-rst century {untitled 2.0, April 7 - may 2, 2017}. all works completed between 2000 - 2017 by e’ bender-webb

printed by pixartprinting usa incorporated 275 wyman street waltham ma 02451 855.932.7498 | pixartprinting.com

photography by aaron alden and brielle leay, grants pass, oregon

3d stereogram cover concept and monograph design by audrey isbell ava virtual assistance 1867 williams hwy - suite #207 grants pass, or 97527 541.244.2606 | avapowerup.com

the receiver eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bender-webb the information stimuli racing fast. and many at once â&#x20AC;&#x201C; coming. brain freeze. grid lock. new paths sought. currents must flow. brain matter convolutes. man changes. 3

â&#x20AC;&#x153;it is important to notice the sound of no rain falling in the midst of a cool wet winter, to rejoice in periods of greater light and turn my face to where the sun would be.â&#x20AC;? - tee corrine

eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bender-webb


"split personality" wood, chalk, iron (55" tall X 12" base)

“self portrait (the chaos within oneself)” (64” X 84”) 7

the river brought back my friend eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bender-webb in the cold river brown your white body lies at rest, not seeing having lost both eyes your arms embrace the wire your body left to float much larger than remembered expanded by bloat mean bullets left holes foreign to your head flies laid their eggs their young upon you fed a daughter you had not to be more your testes taken by some phony whore sounds to be uttered never again but hardly due to death talking would be hard with what little tongue they left great strength you had but no match for decay from your body your head softly tears away

“the three amigos” (38” X 55”) 9

“a story of life” (31” X 56”) 11

installation @ untitled 2.0

“the wire” (54” X 18” X 20”) 13

“the unknown soldier” (78” tall X 14” base) “uninvited emissaries...back from war...friends all stayed the same...couldn't relate.” e’

“the sentinels” (34” X 69”) “a reminder that we're not alone in life...or death.” e’ 15

“annunciation” (28” X 22”) | “drifting wreckage” (28” X 22”)

“menace” (26 ¼” X 25”) 17

“run rabbit run” (35 ½” X 19 ½”)

“tick tock...tick tock” (27” X 15”) 19

“the day the walls came down” (53” x 29”)

“the rock” - bronze and salvaged metal used for target practice - (62” tall X 15” base) 21

“homeless sleep” (60” X 48”) “sometimes those of us with a place to sleep still feel homeless.” e’

“foolish am i” (65” X 53”) “another conversation with myself through painting.” e’ 23

“going home” (60” X 37”) 25

“alone and terrified” (70” X 37”) 27

“man with empty belly” - bronze, granite & sickle - (70” tall X 14” base) “a man so hungry he'd eat the tool meant to harvest food to keep from starving.” e’

“long train runnin’” - a laundry list of broken promises - (30” X 54”) 29

“graveyard paints” (46” X 70”)

“the glory” - structure rescued from a “dipsy dumpster” in portland, oregon - (65” X 60”) 31

broken lamps, chimes and dreams eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bender-webb unwanted lamps search for their lost shades amidst the tearful stare of lonely bulbs piercing the sleepless night of the old man adrift in the vastness of his friendly books. while the dead winter rages and tears in brutal abuse. ignored in the silence behind the walls. calling for the stars and the moon. reaching only the night and the haunted listener within his lonely room of cluttered thoughts and ceaseless wondering. who wishes for some magic to steal his confusion and to caress the dying heart he keeps in old wooden boxes that embrace reread magazines and long playing records. once new, but now old and stained by damp mold and discolored with dust and with torn jackets now faded and music mostly abandoned in the worn grooves now so broken. like the dreams of the man who saved them through the many years and the many moves and the many times shared with the many friends now gone.

“93 lbs of forged steel” (25” X 24” X 14”) 33

detail: gold spray-painted braille page

“journey thru’ dark” (53” X 87”) 35

“cross words” (41” X 29”)

“the auction block” (19” tall X 5” square base) 37

“prejudice of solitude” (65” X 41”) 39

“just sit down” (37 ½” X 60”)

“consequence forlorn” (73” X 49”) - forlorn hope is a military term for “first man in” painting represents expendability while simultaneously visualizing travel... 41

“muse in a flute case” (50” tall X 16” wide X 15” deep)

“darkness shedding light” (52” X 80”) “hope busting out” e’ 43

“when autumn comes” - sycamore - (31” X 55”)

portrait of eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in his studio 45

e’ bender-webb creates thought-provoking art. he doesn’t back away from ‘impolite conversation’ about politics, war, religion and death. his paintings and sculpture dig deep and ask viewers to suspend societal taboos and boundaries and risk being affected at a visceral level. a conversation about his work is intellectually challenging, infused with raw emotion and full of aftershocks that ripple through your psyche. e’ was beguiled by nature as a child. he survived abuse, neglect and abandonment by creating art. a friend writes about his fondness for sketching tombstones with r.i.p. across ‘official governmental records’ while stationed in vietnam as a young man. the officers were not amused but it was his ability to ‘express and release’ that provided a foundation for coping with and later healing from a war that destroyed far too many. art is the beating heart at the center of his world. e’ is guarded and private about his personal history and his work. yet, he nurtures the roots of a seedling that bends toward the light in others and entices him to open wide and share his life...horrific and heavenly. two early supporters were tee corrine and bill doody. both became trusted friends and part of his extended family before they died. tee and bill encouraged his writing and his art. they were instrumental in his early exhibits. bill edited and published his exhibit catalog; tee worked on his manuscript of poems and prose. they were both crucial to the development of his career as an artist. “heir to the visual traditions of francis bacon and edward kienholz, bender-webb’s imagery is not ‘nice,’ but, as one visitor to a recent exhibit said, ‘this is real art.’” - tee corrine, manzanita quarterly founder and contributor. “bender-webb’s art is rich, complex and challenging. it calls out to the open mind in a voice that cannot be denied.” - bill doody, writer and owner of yellow page bookstore and yellow page press. “in e’ bender-webb’s work the dead remain dead, the maimed are forever maimed...his art is sacramental, an outward sign of a corrosive inward reality written forever, and as if in fire.” - jim somers, manzanita quarterly contributor.

e’s work in the twenty-first century is changing. there is a bit more optimism peeking out (and seeping in). there’s no denying the ongoing presence of pain, and pesky memories best forgotten...but there are periods of relief now too. i sense an inner healing that while not complete, is in the works. i believe this particular patient’s prognosis is on the upswing and look forward to seeing where that takes his art. proof is in the monumental painting titled, “darkness shedding light.” it’s also in the central detail of another massive work - “journey thru’ dark” - that turns out to be a gold spray-painted page of braille. the ominous initial appearance of a painting stenciled with “THE END” is tempered by its title “goin’ home” and the hidden house, above the “E” in “THE” accompanied by a red palm print. then there’s the teeny tiny house and the fragments of a poem that reads, “it was all he ever wanted...a studio where he could paint or write...” buried in the middle of “prejudice of solitude,” another large-scale painting. e’ and his work continues to represent the underdog and the oppressed. his art provides a voice for those silenced by pain and provokes viewers to reflect on justice. there is a haunting quality about his sculptures. “man with empty belly,” and his description, “a man so hungry he’d eat the tool meant to harvest food to keep from starving” proves he still isn’t pulling punches. so does the “the auction block.” yet, in works like “the wire” and “split personality” there’s an elegance and sophistication and ambiguity and maturity that’s new and bodes well for future work. I'm certain the hefty subject matter that e’ lugged through his great journey to arrive as the artist presented in this exhibit will not be abandoned. he is well served by wrangling with history and current events with intellect, heart and artistry. i’m also certain that he is poised to shed ample light into his darkness as we anticipate the work of e’ bender-webb in the twenty-first century. dewayne thomas lumpkin untitled 2.0


even if only one eâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bender-webb let a poet be a poet whatever that is flowery verses for some buckets of dark rain for others none meant to satisfy all none able some roses are red some blue each still a rose and smelling sweet to someone even if only one

studio backdrop 49

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untitled 2.0 | e' bender-webb | in the twenty-first century  

e' bender-webb creates thought-provoking art. he doesn't back away from 'impolite conversation'...




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