BRINTZ + COUNTY is pleased to present “Paradise Through the Window,” an exhibition of recent paintings and mixed-media works by Austin Eddy, all of which are inspired by Palm Beach.
The title, “Paradise Through the Window,” comes from a line in Jack Kerouac’s semi-autobiographical novel “On the Road” but also alludes to the image of Palm Beach as a sun-soaked utopia of Old World glamour and leisure.
Eddy first came to Palm Beach two years ago, when his wife, Shara Hughes, had a show at the Norton Museum of Art. Coming from New York City, the change of scenery inspired a major shift in Eddy’s work.
“It was a pivotal transition, because prior to this, I was only working in monochrome,” Eddy said. “The sky and light there (in Palm Beach) are very specific, and I tried to capture a bit of that – and the vibrant orchids that grow in the trees.”
Besides drawing inspiration from the flora and fauna of South Florida, Eddy has cited Brazilian modernists Alfredo Volpi and Amadeo Luciano Lorenzato as key influences on his own distinctive approach to form and color.
“Fundamentally, I see the paintings as abstract paintings, because everything’s broken down to simpler forms or textural swaths,” Eddy said. “The end goal isn’t to represent the actual object, but the idea of the object.”
Eddy’s compositions feature traditional still-life motifs, such as flowers, fruit and fish, but he simplifies them to their essential geometries and often arranges them as if they were elements in a landscape. Horizontally-oriented works such as “Bounty of Florida” and “The Passing of Clouds” represent playful still-life/landscape hybrids. Are we at home, gazing outside at a fantastical landscape, or are we arriving at a friend’s home and seeing a bountiful feast through their dining room window?
“The title goes both ways. Looking out the window, there’s a certain paradise, but looking back in the window, there’s another kind of paradise,” Eddy said.
The meshing of interior and exterior spaces is perhaps even more apparent in “Tarpon Island,” which resembles the rectangular private island off the coast of Palm Beach but also a fish on a kitchen island.
Some of the objects in the compositions – including masks – hold private, symbolic meanings for the artist, but he hopes viewers will discover their own associations.
“My narrative isn’t their narrative, but it’s a common ground to meet on,” Eddy said.
Austin Eddy was born in Boston, MA, in 1986, and received a BFA in Painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He has achieved significant international recognition for his multilayered compositions that reinterpret modernist painting traditions through a personal lens.
Recent solo exhibitions include: Dirimart in Istanbul, Turkey (2025), Knust Kunz, Munich, Germany (2025), Museum Penzberg, Germany (2025), Galerie Eva Presenhuber xP21, Seoul, South Korea (2025), Wentrup Gallery, Berlin, Germany (2025) and Emden Museum, Germany (2025). Recent art fair presentations include: Art Basel, Basel (2025 and 2024), Art Brussels (2025 and 2024), Art Basel Hong Kong (2025), Arco Madrid (2025), Art Basel Miami (2024), Art Cologne (2024), Frieze London (2024), Frieze Seoul (2024), Art Dusseldorf (2024) and Art Geneva (2024). His work is included in significant public and private collections, including the Herodium Museum, DeCordova Museum, Yuanart Collection, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek and the De La Cruz Collection.
Eddy is also the founder and curator of EDDYSROOM, a nomadic curatorial project launched in 2015.