COLE STERNBERG

His practice contemplates humanity’s existential quandary: that of being hopelessly destructive, yet forever and inevitably linked with nature. Through varied media (including painting, sculpture, installation, performance, photography, film and writing), Sternberg positions the aspirations of humankind against the dominant and regenerative forces of the environment and the arbitration of time. For the artist, the conclusion is unavoidable. Human enterprises — art, language, history, law, and republic — are ephemeral / illusory endeavors that attempt to reflect, parallel, and challenge the ascendency of nature to no avail.

In recent years, Sternberg’s painting practice has centered on the environment acting as the true artist. Some pieces have incorporated poetry, suggesting imprecise narratives or descriptions that can’t be fully apprehended through words. His photographs interrupt time, while historical and cultural myths are pursued and deconstructed in sculptural installations and film. These confrontations frequently materialize in instances of erasure; erasure of marks and words, erasure of history, or the erasure of the natural environment.

Sternberg’s works remain subversive in their unremitting search for truth, noting humanity’s attempts to create beautiful permanence while failing admirably. Sternberg has exhibited nationally and internationally, including exhibitions at the American University Museum (Washington, DC), El Segundo Museum of Art (El Segundo, CA), Hochhaus Hansa (a Ruhr.2010 Museum, Dortmund, Germany), There There (Los Angeles), Primary (Miami), David B. Smith Gallery (Denver), Los Angeles Nomadic Division (LAND, Los Angeles), Paris Photo (Los Angeles), Zona Maco (Mexico City), ArtBo (Bogota), Art Los Angeles Contemporary (ALAC), e105 Gallery (Berlin), LA><ART(Los Angeles), MAMA (Los Angeles & Berlin) and Praz Delavallade (Los Angeles) and There-There (Los Angeles).

His works are held by major collections throughout the world, such as the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), the El Segundo Museum of Art (ESMoA), the American University Museum (AUM) and Deutsche Telekom. It has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Whitewall Magazine, Issue Magazine, Autre Magazine, Hercules, Denver Post, Miami New Times, LA Weekly, Art Ltd., Architectural Digest, Angeleno, Sleek, Metal Magazine, ArtNet, Cool Hunting, Santa Barbara Magazine, Huffington Post and Elephant.