The Knapp Gallery introduces an innovative painting collaboration entitled “All guns down,” a new body of work by two intrepid Philadelphia regional artists. Karl Slocum, Knapp Gallery Director and Jon Eckel, The Knapp Gallery’s designated hitter teamed up and painted an epic body of work. Testing the limits of their commitment to their craft, Eckel and Slocum sequestered themselves for nearly four months in a Princeton retreat supplied by their patron. The fruits of their experiment suggest exciting possibilities for change in the contemporary art world...
Having created twenty-one medium-to-large oil paintings on canvas during their collaborative experiment, the painters consider their efforts a success. Their seamlessly interwoven approach illustrates the viability of collaborations as a contemporary art genre. Eckel and Slocum paint together, simultaneously, one canvas at a time; though they hail from different media and stylistic perspectives. The paintings writhe with vibrant jolts of color, line, texture, and bold restive figures. Intimate and provocative themes are by turns poignant, comical, dark and mysterious. Despite strong content and an “in your face” palette, the imagery is approachable and inviting. Musically, the paintings strike a complex, soulful and “saxy” note; with an aggressive tenor and persistent “bottom.” Overcoming initial concerns of clashing independent styles, melding form and abstraction, a confident and resolute harmony prevails; the two painters have become one in these paintings. “Desiring a third emerging signature apart from our independent voices was a priority with us. More than our content, we saw a unified presentation as paramount to our success...”
Their collaboration crosses culture and generation as well, bridging different worlds, and points to a new day. “All guns down” conveys the faith that all aspirations are possible. The artists in completing their residency overcame prejudices that have historically hampered partnerships. Slocum, 49, is an African-American from Fairfield County, Connecticut, a self-trained painter and an abstractionist, with a background in fine woodwork. Eckel, 28, is white, a native Philadelphian, a graduate of Tyler School of Art, and has concentrated more on form and figure. Testing their resolve, the two plan to collaborate next with an elderly feminist pyrotechnics/laundry installation artist from Rapid City whose background is in civil defense...
Ebet Dudley, writer, critic