Eel Costello

Origin: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Birth Year: 1991

Born and raised in Upstate New York, Eel Costello received their BFA from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago. Most recently residing in Los Angeles by way of San Francisco, they are an interdisciplinary sculptural artist working through metaphor for, and in relation to the body. Their work is amplified by the specificity of materials and how they have been held, transported, and cared for as they change hands.

Focusing on the softness found within tension, Costello celebrates connection through a combination of care and play. Through the subversion of an object’s ability or plan to function as designed or intended, whether by force, size or material, a newfound sense of autonomy and power unfolds.

Play, 2023
Trampoline, saddle soap, shoe polish, cotton handkerchiefs, dauber brush, shine brush

Softness with intension, softness within tension, 2024
Hand thrown beads cast in hydrocal, rust removed from the spring, paint, cable, shibari rope, hardware
76" × 37"

Hickey Blvd, Summer 2023
Scans from Detroit, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, NY, pressure and pleasure

Baby Blue, 2024
Thread, Pewter
10" × 31"

Softness with intension, softness within tension, 2024
Hand thrown beads cast in hydrocal, rust removed from the spring, paint, cable, shibari rope, hardware
76" × 37"