Eastman’s work emerges from a pictorial study of images derived from fashion magazines, decorative objects and depictions of popular figures – which become intertwined with personal narratives. Her paintings, often in a small and intimate format, contain loose brushstrokes and often seem to be executed in an intentionally rough manner, which looks to defocus the image and strip back the initial delicate allure. Through this, and as Eastman says, she breaks and questions the heavy heritage which fell onto her shoulders in the moment she decided to paint.
Gallery Exhibitions
Mari Eastman (1970, Berkeley, CA) lives and works in Chicago. She received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, IL (1996) and her BFA from Smith College in Northampton, MA (1992).
Eastman has mounted solo exhibitions at The Green Gallery in Milwaukee, WI (2023); Goldfinch Gallery in Chicago, IL (2021); Bombon Projects in Barcelona, Spain (2020); Grifter in New York City, NY (2020); Monte Clark Gallery in Vancouver, Canada (2016); and Cherry and Martin in Los Angeles, CA (2011), among others.
She has been featured in group exhibitions such as Speed to Roam at Tif Sigfrids Gallery in Athens, GA (2022); I’m Afraid to Own a Body at Poker Flats in Williamstown, MA (2021); Contemporary Paintings from the Collection at Smith College Museum of Art in Northampton, MA (2019); With a Capital P: Selections by Six Painters at the Elmhurst Art Museum in Elmhurst, IL (2019); and American Genre: Contemporary Painting at the ICA Maine College of Art in Portland, ME (2017).
Selected solo exhibitions
2023
2021
2020
2018
2017
2016
2011
2007
2006
Selected group exhibitions
2024
2021
2019
2018
2017
2011
2010
2008
2004