Eric Niederman

New York
@freshprintsoflongisland on Instagram
https://www.blobelisk.com/
“Oncolith No. 1”
Mixed media sculpture (3D printed polymer, steel armature, magnets, wood)
9” x 31” 7”
$5,108
Artist Statement: When I first met Evan, I wasn’t sure what to expect from him or his cancer journey. This work was born from our conversations. His resilience reshaped my understanding of what it means to live with a life-altering diagnosis. Every day, Evan chooses life over illness. He remains deeply engaged with family, comedy, superheroes, and the Chicago sports culture he loves. He described cancer not as a defining force, but as the gum on the bottom of his shoe — irritating and persistent, yet something he steps on and keeps moving. That stance set the tone for this piece. This work reflects the tension between data and lived experience. Using personal and clinical information Evan shared (metastatic sites, visible lesions, age, and the number 108 — the years it took the Cubs to overcome the impossible), I collaborated with an AI model to generate an abstract form dictated by those inputs. Variables such as bumpiness, torsion, facets, and scale were shaped by that data. The form was hollowed, divided into six shards, and 3D printed, then assembled with over 100 magnets to create a reinforced yet intentionally breakable shell. The jagged monolith encodes the clinical dimensions of disease. Hidden inside is a sculptural core modeled from Evan himself. Like the city he loves — gritty, complicated, full of character — the piece carries texture and defiance beneath its surface. Breaking apart the outer structure becomes an act of catharsis and agency, revealing that what endures at the center is not disease, but self.