In Sustaining The Elements, the works of Jonah Ward and Eric White converge in a shared exploration of fire, light, and transformation. Each artist approaches these raw forces with distinct methods, yet together their practices illuminate the delicate balance between control and surrender, process and permanence.
Jonah's Glass-Burned Panels are forged through direct engagement with elemental extremes. Wood, glass, and fire collide in processes he describes as "controlled chaos frozen in time." The works reveal the scars and imprints of these encounters, preserving moments of intensity in surfaces that radiate both fragility and resilience.
In his most recent series, Textured Paintings, Jonah reinterprets what traditionally defines a painting or drawing.
Rectangular pieces of madrone bark, leaves, and paper from bald-faced hornet nests are carefully adhered to wooden canvases in a patchwork pattern, resulting in painting-like forms with a richness and depth rivaling nature itself. For Jonah, these components are not invented but discovered - gathered from the ground, given time and energy, then transformed and displayed in ways that shift how we see the familiar.
Eric White's glass forms-ranging from vessels and sculpture to intricate paperweights— echo this dialogue with the elements. His paperweights, in particular, embody the interplay of light and movement, encapsulating layered patterns and organic gestures within clear glass. For Eric, the act of shaping molten glass is meditative, an unfolding rhythm where the material seems to move with its own will.
Whether in a vessel, sculpture, or a small weight held in the palm, his works capture a sense of motion suspended mid-flight, transforming a fleeting gesture into something enduring.
Together, Jonah and Eric present a body of work that is at once visceral and contemplative. Through fire, air, earth, and light, they sustain the elements— not only as material forces, but as metaphors for growth, impermanence, and the human impulse to transform what is fleeting into what endures.
Curator:
Julie Eppich
EPPICHarts
Napa, CA
Cell 312.420.8016
julie@eppicharts.com
