Erica Hauser

My colors are inspired by vintage materials, old crayons, textiles, toys. I used to paint in a more representative way, depicting the actual objects, the signs and buildings. Over the past few years, I started to abstract the idea of my own memories, being in a space like a roller rink or playroom; recalling patterns on juice glasses, board games, beach towels.

I’d been stacking shapes in my work for some time before I made the connection to my longtime job as a firewood stacker. The way I fit the pieces together, balancing them, supporting against each other, or about to fall, but never quite. Then the shapes became a way to explore color combinations.

I use acrylic paint, a lot of color mixing, layers, in person you might see the texture of the canvas or wood, shapes are smooth edged but a little messy. Vibrant and murky colors side by side. I love trying to get the look of layers of old paint on the side of a building or a piece of furniture. Where you can read the surfaces. You can see ridges of paint strokes, or you see the grain beneath, so the paintings become tactile like the sculptures.

I realized that my most recent paintings represent an aspect of who I am and where I am. Both a more optimistic side of myself, ...

2002
BFA, School of Visual Arts, New York, NY

1998-99
Art Students League, New York, NY

1996-97 Cornell University, Ithaca, NY

(Selected Recent)

2023
Midsummer Dream, Gallery 40, Poughkeepsie, NY
Small Works: Play/Fun, Woodstock Artists Assoc & Museum
Robin Rice Gallery @ Hudson Milliner Art Salon, Hudson, NY

2022
Holiday, LABspace Gallery, Hillsdale, NY
smallWORKS, Garrison Art Center, Garrison, NY
The Pleasure of Gift Giving, ArtPort Kingston

2021
Holiday, LABspace Gallery, Hillsdale, NY
Dumplings and Sugar Cookies... a jam session, Artport Kingston, Kingston, NY
SMILEY, A Sometimes Gallery, Portland, OR
The In View Project, public art installation, Danbury, CT
Summer Salon, group show, Robin Rice Gallery, NYC
Terrain Biennial Newburgh, outdoor installation, 201 Montgomery St, Newburgh, NY
The Other Art Fair Los Angeles, Virtual Edition and Online Studios

2020
Rock Wood Paper Scissors, group exhibition, Lockwood Gallery, Kingston, NY
Renaissance of Resistance, 3 person show, Grit Gallery, Newburgh, NY
Fall Salon, group exhibition, Robin Rice Gallery, New York, NY
ArtStream/The Ripple Effect (site-specific outdoor installation). 'Float'. ArtPort Kingston, Kingston, NY (through summer 2021)
House Party: Paintings by Erica Hauser, Ann Street Gallery, Newburgh, NY
20/20 Vision, group exhibition, Holland Tunnel Gallery, Newburgh, NY

2019
Transit, group...