Category: Painting

WHO’S OFFENDED (2025)

WHO’S OFFENDED SOLO ART SHOW (2025)

 

Base Camp 2  Seattle  July 11-Aug 22

 

 

New works. Mixed media and performance. Huge works on paper, vinyl collage, ceramic sculpture, film, cardboard sculpture. 

 

 

 

Artist statement on exhibition:

As a young child (probably 6 or 7) I remember thinking to myself that the world we are born into was damn shitty. I was surprised that the “grownups” would seemingly do so little to ensure each and everyone had what they needed to live and be happy. Growing up poor, these inequalities were all the more obvious as they would be confronted by myself or family on a daily basis. This exhibition is framed in the voice of the underserved, overlooked and the forgotten. This collection of statements stand as truths–factual alongside emotional responses–they may not be ones you want to hear or think about, but they are at the root of rot in this country and across our planet. 

 

 

Link to virtual tour of the exhibition.

 

 

The content of this show centers on police violence, bigotry, lack of concern for human life, greed, corruption, incarceration, and the glorification of war, amongst feelings of distress, frustration, and injustice. Who’s Offended might not be suitable for sensitive audiences (language) parental discretion is advised. 

 

 

The artwork was generated with the aim of recycling as much old materials as possible. Scrap adhesive vinyl, latex paint, cardboard, all repurposed into the works displayed. The space to create this work over the course of two years was donated: thank you to Punk Rock Flea Market, Nii Modo, The Bemis Building, Cannonball Arts, The Muckleshoot Tribe, Degenerate Art Ensemble, and of course Base Camp 2 for providing the space for the exhibition.

The works on paper come from years of creating messages for the street and public consumption. It is the artist’s intention to invite anyone who has access to offer up locations for these paper works to be placed out in the streets. Got a spot you want to see this work, it could be a wall, or a building, or inside a warehouse, or on a bus, or in your living room. Reach out and start a conversation: ezramdickinson@gmail.com

 

 

For the opening of the show an evening of entertainment was curated by Ezra featuring spoken word by Nahaan, performance duet by Donald Byrd and Ezra Dickinson, the band Seize the Means played a set, and DJ WIZDUM was the sandwich of the evening providing revolutionary sounds for the start, inbetweens and to close down the night. To end the exhibition DJ WIZDUM came through again to provide an evening of sounds to dance the show to a close.

   

 

Throughout the show every Friday at 3pm, there was a live and open to the public reading conducted by Ezra, of the typewriter submissions. The typewriter submissions were an interactive element of WHO’S OFFENDED, show attendees were prompted to interact though the portal of a manual typewriter. Prompts for submission were provided in the form of three categories, Requests for Apology, Sharing of a Confession, or Open Share. This anonymous interactive offering was aimed to provide the gallery goer a chance to express anything that might arise while viewing the show, or share something that might have been weighing on the mind of the attendee related or unrelated. This element offered a path to both feel in a tactile sense via the typewriter the feeling of capturing one’s thoughts and further to give the participant a way to add to the textual fabric of the exhibition. All readings were filmed and will be compiled into a short film for viewing, link coming soon.

 

 

 

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ArtVille (2024)

ArtVille Residency (2024)

 

It has become a yearly tradition for me to spend a month up in the high mountains of Colorado, visiting my long time friends who generously host me. A creative and restful escape, time to think, walk for miles, climb mountains, investigate forgotten structures, add my artwork to the landscape, draw the world around me, cook great food, and think about the future. All this while spending each night overwhelmed by the number of visible stars in the night sky.

 

 

 

 

 

Hanoon Bench (2022)

 

(2022) Hanoon Bench, Totem Lake WA

In the spring of 2022 I was commissioned by long time friends and supporters Wassef and Racha Haroun to create and install a design for a 50’x8’ restaurant bench back, at their new restaurant Hanoon in Totem Lake. The project called for me to source inspiration from an 18th century Syrian inlay on a dresser Wassef and Racha own. I started by sketching and getting into a design area that we all liked. Then digitally I started making drafts of the design working towards a product that would be sent off to be CNC routed into twelve and a half sheets of walnut veneer 1” plywood. While the design was being routed, the framing for the bench was built and installed. When the entire design had been completed, the routed plywood was installed at Hanoon. I then got to work painting the inlay design all 50’ feet of it. For the painting we chose to mimic the source inspiration of the Syrian dresser vine motif. Silver for the vine, and bone white with a translucent pearl overcoat for the blooms. This design and the completed product came out great. I’m quite pleased with the results, Wassef and Racha were speechless, the atmosphere that this piece added to the restaurant is palpable and commanding. If you would like to commission a design contact Ezra at: ezramdickinson@gmail.com

 

 

Cardinal (2017)

(2017) Painting. Exhibited at Seattle Art Fair, Out of Sight, Seattle WA. 

 

This painting is a further step in the direction of building my own painting surfaces. For many years I have been building the frames my paintings go on to, and for some time I have wanted to create an asymmetrical frame to better follow the shape of my works. This is the first true venture into this new idea. This involved more than twenty individual parts, both glued and nailed together. Once the frame and surface had been built, sanded, and primed, I then placed the already created vinyl sticker onto the surface of the wood frame. The vinyl sticker had been gradually developed over the previous three years, incorporating both adhesive vinyl, acrylic paint and block print. This is probably not the most efficient way to create this work and in the future I plan to build the frame first then make the painting/mixed media work on the surface. It was very stressful affixing the premade vinyl sticker to the already built frame, there was absolutely no margin for error. With each work, new lessons are learned. I absolutely love how this piece turned out in the end. This work has since been sold.

 

Commission work (2016)

(2016) visual art painting.

 

Commissioned by Microsoft Evoke Lab’s as part of a six piece series created by members of the New Mystics.
Acrylic, spray paint, and adhesive vinyl on wood. Dimensions 4’x4′.

 

IMG_5998

STar (2012)

(2012) Mural

 

Commissioned by Sound Transit for display on Capital Hills’ former red wall around the construction site of the light rail station. For the holidays, ten artists were paired with ten nonprofit organizations to create a work of art on a holiday star. I was paired with Velocity Dance Center. I created this geometric line pattern using painter’s tape and acrylic paint.

 

Photo Alex Garland

Paurl’s gift (2010)

(2010) vinyl painting 

 

I try to do my best to use all of the materials that come across my path. Since about 2006 I have been collecting and cataloguing adhesive vinyl scraps left from acrylic block printing thousands of my stickers. That is how this gift for my dear friend and longtime collaborator Paurl Walsh came to be. The start of this image was taken from a life drawing class I sat in on one day while at Cornish College of the Arts. I never really feel right just doing what’s expected. I don’t intentionally set out to be different, I just use what comes across my path and try my best to have fun along the way. I ended up in this life drawing class with a four by four piece of black foam core, so naturally I used this as my drawing surface for the class. Afterwards, this study came home and was stored away for some time before I started to fill in the study with different colors from my adhesive vinyl collection. Over the course of a few years this work emerged and finally became a gift. Along the way this work also served as album artwork for one of Mindie Lind’s bands Inly.

 

Blue Brother Bald (2008)

(2008) Visual art Painting.

 

Blue Brother Bald mixed media artwork created in 2008. Going for a contrasting pallet, the tan of the wood grain becomes the visual that pops in this work. While the reds of the adhesive vinyl provide detail and depth. Blue provides a relief to the eyes and a way to begin again. 
Acrylic and adhesive vinyl on wood. Dimensions 24″x24″.
email Ezra at: ezramdickinson@gmail.com for inquiries/questions.

 

Bald Man Show (2008)

(2008) solo art show, the Anne Bonny, Seattle

 

For this, my first solo visual art exhibition, I created fifty new paintings on built and stretched wooden frames. I experimented with a variety of surfaces for painting on, from silk, canvas, wood, vinyl and foam core. Each new work was of the Bald Man, a character I have been developing since 2001. The Bald Man is a tool for experimentation through visual art, murals, posters, printing, and ceramics and has become known amongst local graffiti works in the city. A tool to learn through, I have  committed to reproducing this image over the rest of my life.

 

2X2 (2008)

2X2 Seattle Street Art Show (2008) group show, the Anne Bonny, Seattle

 

I quite like exquisite corpse style creative experiments. For this group show, the walls were covered in two foot by two foot masonite panels. The collection of artists had a month to come through the gallery and contribute to the panels as they saw fit. Once completed, the public for the opening and subsequent exhibition period could purchase the individual panels that caught their eye. At the end of the month all the sold panels were connected to the buyers and everyone was happy.