Peter Eide & Jackson Berger

Maurice

Maurice, Baltimore

December 4th, 2021

Photography by Michele Lohr

Peter Eide and Jackson Berger are pleased to announce, Maurice, a two-person exhibition at Maurice, a new project space in Baltimore, MD.

The catalyst for Maurice involves the miraculous appearance of a pastel-cladded, fake 18th century folk curio made to resemble a foppish aristocrat. “I have no idea how it showed up at the foot of my bed after an evening of debauchery with some out of town guests.” Berger said. “At first, I had a supernatural feeling about the object. On the other hand, I came to the conclusion that my two friends were playing mind games with me, and left the object for me to discover.” he continued.

The idiosyncratic and disparate nature of the two artist’s respective painting practices is paramount to this collaboration. Both Eide and Berger have been exploring three-dimensional forms in the most recent iterations of their work and the show was initially conceived to showcase and occasionally merge Eide and Berger’s artistic sensibilities.

“I visited Jackson’s studio a few years ago and remember that he was channeling the spirit of the Abstract Expressionists in the way he employed the use of thick, impasto applications of paint in order to explore non-objective forms, but with a focus on the visceral by deconstructing and questioning the nature of the formality of painting materials and substrates.” Eide said. “When Jackson and I first met to discuss the show, I could see that his approach and priorities had shifted into the ludicrous.” Eide continued. “I was delving further and further into absurdity in my work, and so the paintings in the exhibition are the result of the two of us relinquishing our individual approaches for the sake of channeling an artistic third: the eponymous Maurice.“ Berger said.

Maurice wears many masks. He is the patron saint and collaborative spirit of this exhibition.