Eric Von Haynes: Drawn Through Restraint

Jun 8 - Aug 2, 2024

Tiger Strikes Asteroid Chicago is pleased to present Drawn Through Restraint, a solo exhibition and residency by artist Eric Von Haynes. Von Haynes’ work explores design and community building through slow media. Lithographs were created using analog methods of mark-making. Collaged materials were exposed to light and combined with layers of oil-based ink to create monoprints. The print series encourages viewers to pause, reflect, and consider time perception.

The exhibition includes a selection of Von Haynes’ prints, a constructed sound shrine co-created with artist Todd Irwin, made of found materials, flowers, and the artist’s record collection. Along with sound installation, Drawn Through Restraint No.9, a grid of litho prints made with fellow printer Gabe Hoare, encourages viewers to pause and consider the creative process along with the space and time between each piece. Folding forward and backward, the work mimics memory. Von Haynes meticulously composes each piece using glass panes to hold down caution tape before exposing the composition to plates. The nature of the paper, the varied rainbow rolls of ink, the exposure time, and the pressure applied to the materials throughout the process make each print unique. His use of non-repeating patterns and slow media publications invites viewers to appreciate his labor and the beauty of the material while analyzing the nuances of the antiquated print process.

During the exhibition, Von Haynes will be working on-site so that visitors can see his practice in person, along with the opportunities to participate in a risograph-making workshop.

Artist biography and artist statement: Eric Von Haynes operates under the imprint Flatlands Press and co-founded Love Fridge Chicago, a mutual aid initiative supporting community fridges. In addition, Eric serves as a Visiting Senior Instructor of Graphic Design at the UIC School of Design. Currently, he holds the position of President at the Chicago Printers Guild. Eric’s interest in print media intersects with the ephemerality of community organizing, where moments of collaboration are solidified in print, and conversations are captured by those actively participating. He is often reminded of a phrase introduced by artist Chris Burden, "TIME KILLS," when he contemplates mark-making as capturing time of fleeting moments within the human experience. He presents these experiences through printed materials for accessibility and widespread distribution. Rather than waiting for history to be written about these moments we live and collaborate with, Eric actively captures, solidifies, and archives his community through publishing and organizing. He finds great satisfaction in community organizing, providing prompts and tools to the public, and allowing participants to create collaboratively while cultivating social scenarios within his city of Chicago.