“It Bears Repeating – (2024)”

“It Bears Repeating – (2024)”

I am releasing this piece on New Year’s Day 2024 as both a physical piece and an NFT. The original piece is 72×36 inches (183×91.5 cm) when stretched. The medium is Aerosol and acrylic on canvas. It will be available as just an NFT and also the original Canvas with the NFT companion on the Divenci.com platform.

NFT +Original Canvas is HERE- NFT only is HERE on the Divenci.com Platform

It can also be purchased on eddiecolla.com and the NFT will be transferred to your wallet address

NFT +Original Canvas is HERE – NFT only is HERE

After the past few years, we have all had to endured quite a bit. A global pandemic, 2 wars, a rising income gap, a housing crisis, energy crisis, and a pending environmental catastrophe etc. At times the weight of it all has crushed my spirit. So in December of 2023, I decided to go into my studio and re-visit this piece. This is my mantra, and rather than repeating it verbally from time to time, particularly when things are weighing down upon me, I remind myself of the basics by making this again. It’s a ritual I perform when needed. The time I spend with the piece, alone in the studio reinforces this message and realigns my perspective. That process, is what I take away. The piece itself needs to go out into the world. New Year’s Day seemed the perfect time to put it out in the world. I suspect many people have struggled in a similar way to myself over the past few years. Today is a New Year, a new chapter, and this seemed an apropos first piece.

The French Exit Sale 40% off

Beginning at Midnight November 27th EVERYTHING on my site will be 40% off by using the code frenchexit at checkout.

_frenchexit

This sale is a result of the intersection of several events so it’s actually a Cyber Monday/ I’m getting evicted/ So I decided to move to France sale. As a result I am clearing out the Oakland studio and everthing’s gotta go. The code will last until 11:59 November 29th.

The universe has a funny, often blunt way, of guiding us. Oakland is now yelling “GET THE FUCK OUT!” while tossing my clothes out the window and Paris is saying “hey, so, do you wanna get a drink sometime?” Therefore the time has come to move on.

So…. if you’ve ever thought to yourself “I should buy a Eddie Colla piece one of these days…” or “I should get my friend/partner/mother an Eddie Colla piece for Christmas…” THE TIME IS NOW!!!

Head over to eddiecolla.com and pick something up.

“Prado” print release

“Prado”

30 x 40cm (12 x 15.5 inches)

Archival pigment print on 300 gr Moab Entrada Rag Matte Fine Art Paper

edition size 50
Signed and numbered

“Prado” Hand Painted

30 x 40cm (12 x 15.5 inches)

Archival pigment print on 300 gr Moab Entrada Rag Matte Fine Art Paper

edition size 10
Signed and numbered

On a fluke I ended up in the south of France in 2005. One impression that has stuck with me all these years is these old hand-painted advertisements on the sides of building from generations ago.In Places like Béziers, Sete, Agde and Bédarieux  there were these  artifacts. Remnants of the past that have outlived their intended purpose. Signs from an era long gone, viewed as so insignificant that they weren’t even worth erasing. So they remained. There seems to be some parable there. “the star that shines twice as bright shines half as long…”

   I’ve always been fascinated with decay. These things, in our environment, that seemingly limp along unaffected by the passage of time. Obstinate in their refusal to simply go away. Immune to their fading glory, they lack self doubt. They simply remain, it’s a strength that’s both surprising and inspiring. I wondered  how long they would last? Would we be limping along as a species across the background of Liqueurs and coffee brands? Would these painted walls, after all is said and done, outlast us? I made the first of these for an exhibit at GCA gallery in 2017. This one I made in 2022  during the pandemic, when our future seemed less than certain. It hasn’t been the source of an entire body of work, it’s simply one of those ideas I can’t shake. What does it mean to endure? What is it’s value? At what point does the once discarded, rise and become priceless as an archeological treasure? Something common that transcends history, simply by lasting.

“2042”

“2042”

48×48 inches (122 x122cm)

Mixed media on stretched canvas

Signed on the back

2023

This is a piece I made at Fat bar in Paris in 2019. Kevin invited me and Nite Owl to come by one afternoon and do some pieces in the bar. I had no real plan that day and about halfway through the day I was out of ideas and nothing was really working. So, I tried to convince Kevin, I would have to come back the next day to finish the piece. Kevin wasn’t havin it. He told me he had to open the bar in a few hours and this needed to be done. So without the luxury of indecision I just pushed through it. It’s a funny thing. I habitually start projects very late, leaving myself almost no time to deliberate over things. Artists work in different ways, for different reasons. I personally have never benefited from ample time. I tend to become indecisive and 2nd guess everything. The work tends to suffer from too much overthinking. I am happiest with the results when I am forced to work in a sort of panicked frenzy in an effort to keep my word. This piece is an example of that, so I revisited it in the studio. Often I test things on walls and out in the public and if I like them I bring them back into the studio. It’s kind of an ass backwards way of doing things. It would make much more sense to experiment in the solitude of my studio and then bring the best results into the public, but there’s a sort of rush from risking public humiliation that I kind of enjoy.

The piece is now available on my website HERE

Rachel Riot X Eddie Colla

Rachel Riot and I created these 2 one of a kind jackets that are now available on my site. I’ve made lots of clothing in the past, but mostly it was production stuff, we made runs of hundreds. These are unique pieces and I was able to spend much more time on them as they didn’t need to be repeatable pieces in a range of sizes etc. So the process, although it is wearable, was much more akin to creating a canvas than creating clothing. That part I enjoyed. The thing that always bothered me about production apparel was that I would have an idea that I wanted to create, I’d create it and then spend most of my time repeating the process over and over again, which is tedious and often some ideas weren’t realistic to make 100 of. So in this case these could be a lot more creative and the process was much more experimental.

The first piece, “Le Soldat Civil” Jacket

Is a deconstructed army jacket with hand embellished details. This piece I worked with both image transfers and stenciling. Much of the jacket was taken apart and reassembled in various ways. The process incorporated many things I truly love, photography, stencil, assemblage and collage. Jacket is signed by both Artists and come with a certificate of authenticity

It’s available HERE

100% Cotton Twill. Women’s XS/S (see measurements).

Neck: 16.5 in/42 cm

Bust: 34 in/86 cm

Waist: 32 in/81 cm

Hip: 36 in/91 cm

Center Front Length: 26 in/66 cm

Center Back Length: 30 in/76 cm

Sleeve Length: 23 in/58 cm

Spot clean or dry clean only.

The Second jacket,

“Manteau de Rasoir” Shirt – Eddie Colla x Rachel Riot Collab

Deconstructed wool army shirt with hand embellished details. Much the same process as the first piece and also a one of a kind. 100% Wool. Jacket is signed by both Artists and come with a certificate of authenticity

It’s available HERE

Unisex Medium (see measurements).

Neck: 17.5 in/44 cm

Chest: 45 in/114 cm

Waist: 43 in/109 cm

Hip: 45 in/114 cm

Center Front Length: 25 in/63 cm

Center Back Length: 28 in/71 cm

Sleeve Length: 27.5 in/70 cm

Spot clean or dry clean only.

It’s good to approach things from a different angle from time to time, with a fresh mind set. These pieces were entirely inefficient to make, and I enjoyed every minute of it. So much for efficiency….

Cutting for Sign Podcast

While I was in Bangkok, through the miracle of modern telecommunications I had the pleasure of chatting with Ron Cecil and Daniel Penner Cline for the Cutting For Sign podcast. You can hear the episode HERE or wherever you listen to podcasts. We had a lovely chat about art, writing and my uncanny resemblance to Iron Man. I really enjoyed chopping it up with these 2 guys and I hope you enjoy the episode.

Ambition Metallic Silver Edition Release

These will go on sale Tuesday August 30th at 9am PST and 18h CEST HERE

Ambition Silver 18×24 inches (46x61cm)

2 color Serigraph on 100lb (270gsm) Cover stock

edition of 100 signed and numbered with certificate of authentication

These were printed with a metallic silver ink, because of it’s reflective nature the text changes depending on the angle of light and your position to the print. The paper used is 100% post consumer recycled and certified forest friendly from The French Paper Company in Michigan. The facility is run by its own in-house Hydro-electric power. This renewable power has avoided 700,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Surplus power is supplied to the local community. The inks used are water based solvent free acrylic.

We all need to start making better informed decisions about what we consume and it’s impact, even artists. Recently I have begun thinking more and more about the materials I use and finding some really good solutions and alternatives. I’m happy to be discovering better ways to print and better materials to reduce waste and pollution. I know this is a small step but a worthy step. As the consequences of climate change continue to have catastrophic results I will do my part to try to continue to find better solutions in my art process and give collectors something they can feel better about owning as well.

You are not now, what you will become

• 

• 

• 

“You are not now, what you will become”

18 x 18 inches (45 x 45 cm)

Mixed media on cradled wood panel

signed on back 2021

This is something I think almost everyday, primarily because in retrospect it has been one consistent truism throughout my life. Almost nothing about my life was predictable, at least not by me. It has always evolved and changed as often as circumstance and environment. It is both a comfort and a warning. Moreover, it is simply an acceptance that all things are uncertain and always have been. In my mind, to get too far ahead of myself is futile because my predictions will almost certainly be wrong. This idea simplifies things for me; it forces me to start everyday where I am and be open to experiences that may seem to be interruptions of whatever I may have planned. Those “interruptions” are often actually catalysts. I’ve found paying attention to interruptions often leads me to places that my limited imagination had never conjured. The idea also reassures me in shit times that all things are temporary, and in good times that nothing lasts forever, so be present and enjoy it.

The piece itself is made from unintentional things. The background consists of butcher paper used to mask overspray; it was utilitarian, never intended as a work itself. The image was an outtake from another project that had nothing to do with this concept, a discarded image. Both were basically refuse. Also, I had planned on writing the title across the bottom in French. I have been studying French for a few months now and I thought it would be apropos to look back on this piece years from now and laugh that either I was a fluent speaker or had given up on French shortly after making this.

I asked a few friends to help with a reasonable translation and even that evolved over a few days. With different opinions and different phrasing and a lot of disagreement about an accurate translation. In the end I just wrote all the various notes at the bottom to demonstrate that even the translation, like the piece itself, had become something other than what I imagined.

So whether I am absolutely at the end of my rope or feeling invincible, I generally pause and tell myself “Wait. We’ll see what happens…”

One Country, One System

18 x18 inches (45 x 45 cm)

Mixed Media on Cradled wood Panel

Signed on back

This is another piece I created with refuse from my studio. As it turns out what’s laying around my studio is a fairly good indication of what my preoccupations are. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic I was closely watching the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. There was evidence of this around the studio. Images, notes etc. I am not a Hong Konger, I am simply someone who has always found a certain joy in Hong Kong, mostly because of the sheer unlikelihood of the entire place and it’s ambition. It is a place of contradictions that functions at breakneck speed. Where the past and the future joust in close proximity often with no outcome or victor. It would seem that Hong Kong and what it is; it’s culture, traditions and it’s unique disposition, are on borrowed time. The autonomy promised to Hong Kong in 1997 has quickly eroded and it’s audacity muted. It would seem that it is destined to become South Shenzhen, an extension of the mainland’s greater bay area vision. China may have done what no one thought was possible in the past 40 years, economically and technologically, but it is not Hong Kong. It lacks the magical outcome that happens as a result of coincidence and confluence. Whereas, China is a linear climb towards a specific future, Hong Kong, it seems has wandered, meandered and stumbled upon some fairly unimaginable outcomes. It is still surprising to this day. It is like no other place I’ve ever been.

The text on this piece roughly translates as “When a rat eats a bird the rat doesn’t fly, the bird just dies” My point is that a culture overpowered by another doesn’t result in the conquering force inheriting the virtues and character of that place; those virtues and that character are erased. Lost.

In that, there is something that is worthy of mourning. For me, the loss of some kind of magic that happens quite infrequently in history. Something unpredictable and fascinating, and without it, the world becomes a rather linear prosaic existence.

ANALOGUE CAN

“Analogue Can”

Edition of 33

Numbered and titled Steel embossed dog tag

Hand signed and numbered on the bottom

These drop Wednesday July 14th at 9am PST (18h UTC+2)

Get it Here

There is a balance to symmetry in human forms that is curious. Too little and things seems awkward, deformed, perhaps even ugly. Too much and things seems synthetic, cold, artificial even. We have a very strange relationship with perfection. There is almost certainly a sweet spot of the “right” amount of variation from our left to right sides. This piece is an examination of that embedded sense we have. Our sensitivity to that balance should not be underestimated. It can be the difference between repulsion, attraction or alienation. It is a core part of how we see the world and respond to things.

   The odd price, $68.79, for anyone who is curious is simply a numerical analogy. 6:8 :: 7:9. In keeping with idea of things being symmetrical and/or analogous

Each can comes with a numbered, embossed steel dog tag and is also signed and numbered by hand on the bottom of the can.

• 

• 

•