David Eckard: Tournament (lumens)
Co-curated with Lisa Favero. Consolidated Works, Seattle. May - June 2003
Accompanying the exhibition Wrapture, Portland-based sculptor and performance artist David Eckard presents Tournament (lumens), a solo installation that transforms the gallery into an environment reminiscent of a sporting arena. Large-scale wood, metal, and fabric sculptures evoke game equipment and a victor’s throne, creating a stage where the physicality of the work and its theatrical presence engage viewers. Eckard’s practice has long explored themes of sexual and body politics, drawing on references from bondage paraphernalia, Victorian-era corsetry, and theatrical props to examine power, control, and the performative aspects of identity.
On opening night, Eckard activates the installation through performance, entering the Tournament stage and physically interacting with his sculptures. By wearing and moving among his creations, he transforms static objects into living extensions of the body, merging sculpture, costume, and action into a single immersive experience. Tournament (lumens) invites audiences to consider the intersections of spectacle, ritual, and personal expression, demonstrating how art can embody both conceptual rigor and visceral presence within a performative context.
Selected Press
Seattle P-I, Regina Hackett, May 11, 2003
"Half the show belongs to David Eckard. His sculptures are solitary exercises in self-love. Each massive steel instrument evokes carnival life, Victorian drag and farm tools. His drawings are precise renderings of unknown anatomies. It's the recognizable elements in his work, set in strange terrains, that make it bizarre and ultimately moving."
About David Eckard
David Eckard (1964–2025) was a Portland-based artist whose sculptural installations, performances, and drawings combined formal elegance with deeply personal and often provocative content. With a background in both fine art and performance, Eckard created enigmatic objects and environments that examined themes of identity, vulnerability, and power. His work often took the form of fantastical contraptions, hybrid forms that merged the body with armor, furniture, or tools, suggesting both protection and exposure. Equally known for his performance practice, Eckard brought his sculptures to life in public settings—floating down rivers, occupying urban spaces, or staging monologues—inviting viewers into surreal, ritual-like encounters that blurred the line between spectacle and sincerity.
Beyond his studio practice, Eckard was a highly respected educator and mentor, serving for many years as Chair of Sculpture at the Pacific Northwest College of Art. He played a pivotal role in shaping Portland’s contemporary art community and was recognized with several major honors, including the Hallie Ford Fellowship, the Bonnie Bronson Fellowship, and a Regional Arts & Culture Council Individual Artist Fellowship. His mid-career survey exhibition, Deployment, offered a deep look into the breadth of his practice and highlighted his ability to fuse craft, narrative, and conceptual rigor. David Eckard’s legacy endures in the lives of the students he taught, the artists he influenced, and the fiercely original body of work he left behind—work that continues to resonate with humor, poignancy, and subversive imagination.