Eve Wood: ‘Mostly Birds (and a Few Humans)’

Championing the Importance of Small, Personal Narratives

Eve Wood‘s first solo museum exhibition, Mostly Birds (and a Few Humans), at the Riverside Art Museum, demonstrates the quiet power inherent in art that speaks softly yet carries an enduring resonance, with the show having 30 works on paper. Wood’s use of gouache and graphite feels like a deliberate embrace of mediums often overshadowed by the larger-than-life, mixed-media installations dominating today’s art world. Instead, her work draws the viewer inward, inviting an emotional engagement that lingers.

Installation view, Mostly Birds (and a Few Humans)

The exhibition also includes adhesive vinyl decals that magnify elements of her original drawings. These decals are spread across the gallery’s walls, creating an immersive environment. Complementing this visual extension, passages from her poetry are inscribed on the walls, merging the verbal and the pictorial. This fusion of text and image underscores Wood’s ability to distill layered meanings into condensed forms. Notably, the exhibition coincides with Surrealism‘s centennial. The influence of this art movement—born with the publication of the Surrealist Manifesto in October 1924—has only gained momentum over time. Pairing incongruous elements continues to inspire new expressions of the subconscious, and Wood is one of its finest Southern California practitioners.

Flesh Birds

Birds dominate the imagery, rendered in states that oscillate between tenderness and anguish, echoing themes of survival and vulnerability. Works like Icarus, Reimagined and Raven in McQueen interweave the surreal with deeply personal narratives. These avian figures, often imbued with anthropomorphic qualities, serve as potent metaphors for human frailty and resilience. Reflecting on her work, Wood remarks, “I’ve always felt a kinship with animals, perhaps because I find people so complicated and unknowable.” Humans have envied birds since the dawn of time; we want to fly too—but we cannot, except through our machines. The delicate texture of her chosen mediums heightens this sense of impermanence and our awareness of what we lack and cannot achieve—except through our minds and through art, perhaps (when machines aren’t an option).

Meriwether Blue

Raw emotion courses through each piece. In an era where grandiosity often overshadows intimacy, Wood’s approach feels refreshingly unguarded. Her commitment to creating within the ephemeral realm of works on paper reinforces this vulnerability—each piece might vanish with a breath.

Parakeet Green

While this exhibition is a significant milestone in Wood’s career, it also champions the importance of small, personal narratives as we continue to explore who we are and how we fit within a broader cultural story.

Cover image: installation view, Mostly Birds (and a Few Humans); all images courtesy of the author, the artist and Track 16, Los Angeles.