Eliot Greenwald was born in 1983 in Portland, Maine. A self-taught American artist, he lives and works in Ashfield, Massachusetts. He is a maker above all. Indeed, he loves experimenting with materials, techniques and ideas, and builds his own supports.

The Night Car Series

At the start of the pandemic in 2020, he began drawing a boxy car. Its headlights cut through the darkness. The drawings turned into paintings, then into the Night Car series that made his name. A car crosses a nocturnal wilderness beneath two moons, in saturated, contrasting colors. It is thus a simple metaphor for navigating a suddenly uncertain world. True to a do-it-yourself spirit, Greenwald built oddly shaped custom canvases that became his hallmark. His often improvised handling pushes each image just far enough to convey the idea. The scenes reveal their unreality while keeping a strong sense of place. In the reach of the headlights, the boundary between known and unknown, Rousseau-like jungles appear.

Eliot Greenwald had his first solo exhibition in New York, Night Car, in 2020 at Hesse Flatow. Many exhibitions then followed at Harper’s, in New York, East Hampton and Los Angeles. He has also shown at Taymour Grahne Projects in London, M+B in Los Angeles, WOAW Gallery in Hong Kong and Gana Art in Seoul. In 2024, Almine Rech presented Flabby Saturn in Brussels. In 2023, he showed in Paris at Long Story Short, alongside Serban Ionescu. Juxtapoz, It’s Nice That, Artnet, ARTnews and Hyperallergic have covered his work.

Houses by the Water

After Eliot Greenwald moved with his family to the countryside, far from the city and the sea, a new image appeared in his sketchbooks. It was a house by the water, with smoke rising from its chimney. He first thought of the granite and pine islands of his native Maine. He also thought of its coastal houses built on stilts to withstand the tides. The smoke, thick as cotton, became a character in its own right. It was partly inspired by Mike Kelley’s Ghost and Spirit photographs. The jungle unfolded in all its flamboyance, confirming him as an exceptional colorist. A full moon, or perhaps a sun, bathes the scenes in an ethereal glow.

Their simplification recalls Matthew Wong’s painting. Close together yet isolated, these fragile houses speak of the precariousness of the human condition. They also evoke a hyperconnected world in which everyone remains alone. The sculptures, including a mask and a hideout, extend this reflection. The car motif occasionally reappears, as if reborn through water.

Ring the Cookhouse Bell at Villa Navarra

In 2026, Galerie Enrico Navarra presents this new body of work at Villa Navarra in Le Muy. Ring the Cookhouse Bell is the artist’s first solo exhibition in France. Indeed, the title evokes the bell that calls people to a shared meal. It answers isolation with a joyful call to community.