Jerry Ross Barrish
Material Inspiration
June 13 - July 16, 2026
Jerry Ross Barrish sees possibilities where others see discard. For nearly half a century he has gathered the thrown-away and given it new life through sculpture, not as explicitly as objects of protest, but as acts of empathy and imagination. In his hands, plastic becomes persona and gesture, and the material world of refuse becomes a mirror for the human condition.
Material Inspiration traces this alchemy through three threads: Collaboration, Inspiration, and Continuity.
In Collaboration, we see a spirit of exchange. Partnering with painters Theophilus Brown, June Felter, Elly Simmons, Mick Sheldon, and Paul Wonner, Barrish provided a narrative canvas, allowing each artist to shape a unique story on the found plastic assemblage. These collaborations remind us that art expands through trust and conversation.
In Inspiration, paintings of Barrish’s work are exhibited along side the original assemblage sculpture. Artists Gary Bukovnik, Paul Madonna, Mick Sheldon, and M. Louise Stanley respond to his sensibility through their own practices, translating his sculptural language into new mediums. Incorporated in a variety of ways and contexts, their works conduct big energy through the documentation of Barrish’s work in capturing emotion and movement through discarded plastic assemblage.
Lastly, Continuity brings us back to Barrish’s current practice. His recent and historical sculptures show the persistence of a singular voice: resourceful and refined, humorous yet tender. His work continues on as a testament to the endurance of creativity as both material and spirit, while calling awareness to the global plastic crisis.
Together, these three movements form a portrait not only of an artist and his friends and peers, but of an ecosystem of making. His practice is one that values friendship and experimentation. Material Inspiration invites viewers to see that in every fragment lies a story, and in the act of creation, possibility.
Exhibition Details
Title: Material Inspiration
Artist: Jerry Ross Barrish
Dates: June 13 - July 16, 2026
Location: Nelson Duni, 35 Bartlett Street, San Francisco, California
Press Preview: Friday, June 12, 2026, 11 AM – 5 PM and by appointment
Opening Reception: Saturday, June 13, 2026, 4 – 8 PM
Opening concurrently with a Jack Fischer pop-up presentation in the South Gallery.
Jerry Ross Barrish, Theophilus Brown, Bill's Piece: Collaboration with Theophilus Brown, 1999 - 2006, acrylic on assemblage found materials, 10.75 x 21 x 3 in
Jerry Ross Barrish, Mick Sheldon, Mick's Piece: Collaboration with Mick Sheldon, 2006, acrylic on assemblage found materials, 8 x 6.5 x 2.25 in
Jerry Ross Barrish, Lady Cat, 2005, assemblage found materials, 26 x 19 x 7 in; M. Louise Stanley, Waiting for Van Gogh, 2011, Acrylic on paper, 29.5 x 22 in