In The Pale Light of Shadow We Put Together a House
In The Pale Light of Shadow We Put Together a House
an exhibition of work by Sophie Eisner
July 17th – August 24th, 2025
Opening Reception: Thursday, July 17th 6-8pm
Gallery Hours: Thurs through Sat, 12-6pm or by appointment
O+ @ 334 Wall Street, Kingston, NY 12401
O+ is honored to present In The Pale Light of Shadow We Put Together a House, an exhibition of recent work by Kingston-based artist, and 2024 O+ Festival alum, Sophie Eisner. Eisner will be showing new sculptural work in the gallery, as well as an installation in the storefront project spaces.
With formal elements reminiscent of both Joseph Cornell and Beuys, and distinctly contemporary explorations of connection, purpose and longing, the work exemplifies the informed, curious, and associative nature of Eisner’s practice. Her objects are both nostalgic and inventive– produced from familiar materials that mimic the body and refer to the home just enough to seem both intimate and utilitarian. The giving shape to the space between materiality and emotion, the presentness of play and the weight of memory.
ARTIST STATEMENT
“In making for ourselves a place to live, we first spread a parasol to throw a shadow on the earth, and in the pale light of the shadow we put together a house.”
In the early pages of Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s text he writes, “in the pale light of the shadow we put together a house.” It is unclear if the “we” still exists or if he is now alone recalling a past time of togetherness. Even in the most joyful memories, there is a felt space of absence.
Putting together a house, building a life, is a hopeful act as well as a commitment of labor. It is a corporal investment in one’s future and, in the “we” that Tanizaki writes, a joint effort and a shared experience. To put a house together is not to build from the ground up, but to gather and combine disparate parts and bring them into relationship.
It is somber and hopeful, vulnerable and brave. There is uncertainty and opportunity in the making. Gravity and play exist concurrently. In the pale light of the shadow we do not know the future, but in it we build on our memories and make a place to live.
My practice is a tender putting together. With a combination of industrial materials and more traditional art media, I build, cast and assemble forms that appear simultaneously utilitarian and intimate. The forms and arrangements in this body of work speak to the unfixedness of home, the inherent longing of nostalgia, and gestures of a body in juxtaposition with a materiality most akin to architecture and manufacturing. The objects are imbued with the discovery of childlike exploration, the non-linear narratives of memory, and opportunities for holding and care in spaces of absence.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Sophie Eisner grew up in New York City, and after spending many years in the Midwest, has made her home in Kingston, NY. Eisner’s studio practice includes sculpture, installation, drawing, performance and musical collaboration working in steel, silicone, concrete, wood, fabric and bronze. With a background in ceramics and figure drawing, Eisner’s work is grounded in the act of making and close observation of the physical world.
Eisner’s work has been exhibited in galleries, museums, and sculpture parks in the United States and internationally including at Simone DeSousa Gallery, Wasserman Projects, Franconia Sculpture Park, the Wright Museum of African American History, and Galerie Marzee. She has been awarded residencies at Yaddo, Mass MoCA, the Vermont Studio Center, and Salem Art Works among others and was honored with the Louise Bourgeois Award in Sculpture from Yaddo. Eisner teaches sculpture at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University.