James Eddy at Incline Gallery, San Francisco
By: Matt Gonzalez
James Eddy exhibits nearly 50 soft pastel and pastel-colored pencil artworks, inspired by Mexican folk art, at his first solo exhibition at Incline Gallery, opening this Friday, June 27, 2025. All the works, ranging in size from 6 x 4 inches to 72 x 48 inches, are done on cotton-backed aluminum oxide industrial-grade sandpaper which he obtains from a manufacturer in Pennsylvania and which were originally meant for large mechanized belt sanders. The medium’s exceptional tooth soaks up pigment presenting vivid colors and depth which presents the viewer with a vibrant and glossy appearance he can't achieve with any other substrate. The lightfastness of the works are particularly noteworthy as the pastels resist fading, belying the fragility usually associated with pastel medium. In some cases acrylic paint and gold leaf are added for decorative accentuation and further promote a subtle surface experience for the viewer.
The subjects, often presented in storyboard narratives which allow him to tell a tale in various compartmentalized elements, revolve from personal stories drawn from various dramas in his own life. These autobiographical experiences, with Eddy as the main protagonist, also offer clever depictions of adages and sayings that take on the sensation of aphorisms. Most are mischievous and meant to evoke a dark or self-deprecating humor.
The works illustrating pictorial sequences are derivative of the Mexican ex-voto tradition which comprised an artist rendering on tin or copper making a votive offering to a saint, giving public thanks for their holy intercession, given in fulfillment of a vow or prayer. The phrase comes from the Latin phrase “ex voto suscepto” meaning “from the vow made.” Eddy’s artistic renderings usually invoke a specific saint, from the bountiful Catholic canon, to venerate; although the saintly references are presumably tongue-in-cheek. Eddy’s ex-votos incorporate a personal narrative of overcoming adversity and expressing gratitude for divine intervention, usually realized through rescue or cure. The pieces include details such as the date the event in question occurred and when the artwork, and thus offering, was made.
Eddy is most comfortable being cheeky and impertinent revealing his delight working within the domain of humor. Particularly as our world seems ever more solemn these works offer the viewer a respite from seriousness, yet also serve up modern wisdom about romance and overcoming hardship. In many instances the central motif revolves around slaying demons and other adversaries. While he isn’t limited to offering thanks for miracles (“milagros”) he does commemorate recovery from illness and survival from various accidents and misfortunes. Many include a text caption that recounts the details of the events. The paintings are a testament to the spirit of human resilience, and evoke a sense of wonder and empathy.
Eddy has noted that he utilizes a diverse mixture of narrative traditions “including proverbs, ledger drawings, modern advertising, spoken clichés, comic books, salesman's samples, storyboards, street art, broadsides, and pop art.”
Viewers will see elements of the various forms as they analogize to similar events in their own lives thus making the work a contemporary means of sharing current truths and norms. Eddy playfully depicts the time he superglued a younger brother to the toilet seat, a story about having a nosebleed that wouldn’t cease, and the true story of being thrown out of a prestigious bank when he visited to relate discrepancies he had noticed with his checking account.
Naturally, observers will ponder how these crises were resolved. Most are good humored tales and rights of passage viewers will relate to and commiserate with; pity and sorrow are abundant here. The above-noted bank account is revenge worthy as the bank in question, where Eddy was a loyal customer for 16 years, later failed during an economic recession thus making Eddy’s painting into a case of David defeating Goliath. Saint Matthew the Apostle, the patron saint of financial matters, was invoked while Eddy condemned the bank for their “unfaithful ways and the abandonment of their most basic fiduciary duties.”
In another ex-voto, Eddy commemorates the miraculous recovery from a severe rash caused by poison oak, where he invoked Saint Bartholomew the Apostle for assistance. In the summer of 2024, James had the rather unlucky experience of falling headfirst into a dense thicket of poison oak in Lafayette. Beyond the initial embarrassment of feeling like a "total jackass", he developed a severe, rapidly spreading rash. When home remedies failed, he appealed to Saint Bartholomew, the patron saint of skin diseases, for help. His prayer was answered, and the affliction began to subside. The ex-voto honors the "miraculous recovery" and gives thanks to the saint.
In many respects these stories could be seen as rather mundane and playful, highlighting poison oak and childish super glue misadventures; yet that is precisely why they are so relatable. Many people can imagine the agony and frustration of dealing with these situations whether they themselves have experienced them.
Humor amplifying his own shortcomings abounds with the added comedic element of hyperbolically asking a saint for relief. In many instances, Eddy illustrates how uncomfortable experiences and the use of traditional ex-voto format can serve as catharsis and create lighthearted and charming narratives about renewal.
Many of Eddy’s paintings have single word or phrase illustrations influenced by the Mexican retablo tradition which presented the Virgin Mary, saints, or Christ, in devotional or votive paintings. Within the Catholic tradition, the original retablos venerated a sacred personage and were meant to be protective. The Latin word “retablo” originates from the word for certain altarpieces or backboards, literally meaning “board behind.” Eddy takes expressions, such as: “Low Rider,” “Wild Horses,” “Blind Faith,” “Squatters,” “Tears of Joy,” “Find Your Voice,” “Trapped In My Own Mind,” and thereafter depicts a picture version of the conceptual unit to serve as a modern prompting of memory and reflection.
Eddy is a modern retablero (folk artist of retablos); a storyteller conveying precious tidbits from his own life that resonate beyond himself toward the larger human experience. His paintings are shrines and modern votive offerings presented in a humble form. They are not exactly cartoony, but utilize deceptively simple renderings to cast figures drawn with large-eyes and a naivete on their expression. Look closely though and you’ll see sophisticated perspective, compositional choices, and complicated visual forms.
This is a well-conceived offering of paintings that will fill the viewer with a healthy blend of humor and hopefulness.
