Eric Anthony Berdis is an artist interested in identities of the ghost of queer history and the abandoned practices of our past. Positioning a maximalist aesthetic of archival research, personal secrets, and gay boy glamour in his installations and performances, Berdis creates a world that is both familiar and inherently strange. Through performance, textile sculpture, and embellished drawings, he examines feelings of failure, nonlinearity, and humor, asking the audience to question their own identity as he confronts his. This exhibition includes performance ephemera and a selection of related publications from Milner Library's Collection.
Artist Biography
Eric Anthony Berdis received his BFA from Slippery Rock University in Slippery Rock, PA and an MFA in Fiber, Craft & Material Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. Berdis’ work and performances have been exhibited at Bunker Project, Pittsburgh, PA; Random Access Gallery, Syracuse, New York; The Second Floor, Karachi, Pakistan; and Little Berlin, Baltimore, among others. In 2017 Berdis was a Visiting Artist at Syracuse University and Bunker Projects. He recently participated in “Abandoned Practices” at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and holds the title of LGBTQIA+ Service Coordinator at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA where he lives and works.
Milner Library is pleased to present this exhibition in collaboration with University Galleries’ Curator Jessica Bingham