Louis Eisner (B. 1988)

Executed in 2012, Knuckleheads THEWEIGHTHASBEENLIFTED Knuckleheads 1 comes from Eisner’s series of the same name.
Across four panels, Eisner lays out Popeye’s head with a rubber stamp within a delicate linear grid in blue chalk. Popeye’s winking face is encircled by four arms; each fist grabs the next forearm in a complete loop, knuckles bulging with the effort. Together they form a four-pointed star, reminiscent of a Hindu swastika, the symbol for the evolution of the universe. As the viewer’s eye moves across the panels from left to right, the regular network of stamps becomes less frequent although still highly regular, suggesting a coded visual language. Eisner is a member of the Still House Group in New York, a cutting-edge collective of young artists based in New York
founded by Isaac Brest and Alex Perweller. A graduate of Columbia University, Eisner holds a degree in Art History. In Knuckleheads THEWEIGHTHASBEENLIFTED Knuckleheads1 Eisner mines this academic background, responding to Andy Warhol’s legacy of appropriation, and his fusion of massproduction and the hand-crafted. Created from an original painting by Eisner, the rubber stamp used in the fabrication of this work features an image of Popeye that sees the artist bring together Pop technique and technical skill