Ethan Estess

Arashinoumi, 2023, reclaimed fishing rope, 114 x 52 inches, $13,000 - SOLD
This piece was commissioned by the Anderson Collection at Stanford University for their 2023 exhibition, Convergence Zone

Ethan Estess is an artist, marine biologist, and founder of the nonprofit Countercurrent, which fosters ocean stewardship through science-based public art installations and youth workshops. Estess seeks to bring attention to the issue of marine plastic pollution beyond single-use plastic straws and plastic bags. The artworks for his 2023 solo exhibition Tradewinds are created from fishing rope collected off the beaches of the Hawaiian and Channel Islands, in combination with decommissioned rope sourced from commercial fishermen. Estess believes that supporting local, responsible fisheries is a key step in bypassing the marine pollution, species bycatch, and overfishing often associated with cheap, imported seafood. His beautifully colored seascapes are a magical second life for the otherwise mundane material, evoking Kanagawa’s Great Wave and ’70s Op Art. (10% of sales from the Tradewinds exhibition will go to the Hawai’i Community Foundation’s Maui Strong Fund providing financial resources for those recovering from the devastating Maui wildfires.

Estess holds a BS and MS in Earth Systems from Stanford University, an interdisciplinary program that includes marine science, science communication, studio art, and mechanical engineering. As an undergrad, Ethan Estess was directed to the art department after being told he was not allowed to make surfboards on campus due to the toxic manufacturing process involving polyester resin and fiberglass dust. In Terry Berlier’s sculpture class, Estess realized the power of storytelling through art. He works in the tradition of assemblage sculpture, inspired by Marcel Duchamp’s introduction of objet trouvé into the canon of art history, Robert Rauschenberg’s “Combines”, and Berlier’s concept of the “ecology of materials”. Estess lives, works, and surfs in his hometown of Santa Cruz, CA with his wife and daughter.

Estess is both an artist and a scientist. While his scientific output can be incomprehensibly dense (try tackling, for instance, “Ontogeny of Regional Endothermy in Pacific Bluefin Tuna,” a research paper he co-authored in 2020), his art often comes with a frivolous façade. But it doesn’t take long to see beyond the frivolity and get sucker-punched by the unpleasant environmental messages at the core of his work—all of it informed both by his scholastic curiosity and by his lifelong love of the ocean and its many endangered critters.

—  Steve Hawk, former editor of Surfer and Sierra magazines

Using color and movement in his abstract and representational sculptural pieces and luscious monochromatic prints, Ethan Estess’s engaging work evokes a sense of calm peacefulness while shedding light on the perilous state of our oceans and the impact discarded rope and fishing gear has on whales and other marine mammals. Underneath the serene blue and green hues and undulating waves, lies a crucial message: we must protect our oceans as they are key to our survival.  

—  Deborah Munk, manager, Artist in Residence Program & Environmental Learning Center, Recology San Francisco 

Click here to contact us if you’d like to be notified when a preview of the work in Estess’s September M Stark Gallery solo show is available.