Continuing the Art of Play
April 22, 2026

Artist: Austin Eddy

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https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87618016665

“I'm looking for a crack in the history of art.”

Brooklyn-based Austin Eddy’s paintings call on the viewer to create their own stories out of the ones he proposes. He might use autobiographical events and abstract them to birds, but never imposes his own interpretation. His birds are more form than animal: they are stand-ins for the very human desire for personal freedom, framed by its equally strong wish for stability and structure. As his work toes the line between figurative and abstract, it recalls the cubist forms of the 20th century, while being firmly anchored in Austin’s present.

Collectors Agenda

Warm-up + Project:

Please read the interview with Austin Eddy at Collectors Agenda, link below.
Collectors Agenda

We will use the bird as our starting point for this week's creative exploration.

Key words:
- Freedom
- Stability
- Structure
- Story
- Emotion
- Simple
- Complex
- Flat
- Layered
- Joyful

Idea starters:
- A memory of an experience
- An everyday activity
- A thought or an emotion to explore
- An observation
- A question

Artist Website

Collectors Agenda

Instagram

GEP

Frestonian Gallery

The Pit

Excerpt from interview at Collector's Agenda:

Is the bird a metaphor for freedom?
Well, at times. But it’s equally a symbol of something that is trapped or caged. I am thinking about the duality of existence: the longing for freedom but at the same time a need for structure. Be it a family, job, self-imposed rules etc. This same appreciation for duality can be applied to the trees the birds are sitting on: they are meant to be a solid space, something secure but simultaneously a very vulnerable space. A tree is rooted, but is subject to move with the wind in a storm… like us through points of difficulty and conflict.

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