The Eyes Have It Print

Kurt Erickson (b.1977, Illinois) Brazenly visual, Kurt Erickson’s work draws the viewer in through his fresh, vibrant canvases. Growing intuitively out of passing thoughts, emotions and life experiences Erickson’s artworks grasp aspects of graffiti art, punk rock and urban grit. His approach to painting integrates a radical embrace of the subconscious mind. Using effortless gestural marks, he allows fluid brushstrokes and the intersection between the intentional and the subliminal to guide his process. Consciously integrating bright, dynamic colors, his works elicit the sensation of free-spirited spontaneity. His paintings encourage one to pause and let the mind wonder. He seeks to make visual art that invites the viewer to consider a new perspective, a more thoughtful way of looking at life. Erickson intricately weaves together the industrial, the found, and ephemeral, with a candidly organic method. Using various substrates and incorporating tissue paper or up-cycled shop rags, he layers his work with drips, drops, and spills, ultimately creating a visual relationship between the past and present, synthesizing with those who have worked and created before him. Calling upon his favorite artists’ spirits; Jean Michel Basquiat, Cy Twombly, Robert Rauschenberg, Joan Mitchell and others, Erickson creates his own body of work through specific expressions of personal journeys and the tension that exists in those memories. Erickson’s body of work falls into three broad groups: urban/graffiti motifs, intuitive abstracts and digital collage works. Each series explores uncharted conceptual territories through a playful balance between control and self-discovery as a means of self-expression. All the while, he honors his human spirit—joyful, present, and ever-evolving. Follow me to keep up to date on new projects and events. Personal Website - Instagram -