Erik uses flat metal construction tools to create dynamic yet elegant
contemporary abstract paintings. His paintings are textural and full of
vivid colors. When Erik paints, colors and patterns emerge and submerge
and remind some of abstract architectural landscapes. Erik explores spatial
depth with his paintings. His photographs compliment his paintings and explore depth, light and intimacy.

Erik is a self-taught artist and began painting professionally in January
2002. While in architecture school, Erik started using acrylic paint to cover
the chip-board he used to construct architectural models. He soon
discovered for himself the joy of putting paint on a flat surface ... and that
started Erik on the road to his new painting career. His architectural background is always there, guiding him through the creation of each painting.

Erik has participated in over two dozen solo art shows and over sixty group
art shows. Nearly two-thirds of his paintings are now collected throughout
ten US states as well as Australia, Mexico, Tunisia and Hong Kong. Between
September 2008 and May 2010 three of Erik’s paintings were on display inside the United States Embassy in Dili, East Timor through the Art in Embassies program of the US State Department.

For several years I considered myself primarily a printmaker, but my interest in pushing the boundaries of printmaking has led me more and more into collage and mixed media. I began my life in art as a painter and graphic designer, and that background still informs all that I do. My work is filled with layers of information and of meaning, and often contains odd juxtapositions with their own resonance, open to endless interpretations.

Since I started art I have been thinking about different cultures, imagination and appearance, time and space. Between and cross differences. The series of monotypes

My paintings are based on nature, fashioned from memory and imagination, and imply landscapes not necessarily seen, but felt. I dissolve the landscape, leaving only what I consider to be the essence of nature. I continually examine the effects of light and form in the natural world. The dramatic effect of light that happens throughout the day sets the mood for each painting. The images created are grounded in a perspective associated with landscape; but rather than mirror the outside world I look inward reflecting on my experiences to find new meaning and relationships between form, light and perspective.

When foreclosures began to occur in the early 2000’s, as a former urban planner, I was acutely aware of the impact this would have on our cities. However, very little was mentioned in the news about the real causes of the crisis and how widespread it had become. I began to create quilts of foreclosures maps in the hopes of capturing people’s attention around the crisis. Quilts act as a functional memory, an historical record of difficult times. The quilts are pieced together using the block patterns taken from neighborhood maps. Within these, foreclosed lots are shown as holes in the quilts. The lot locations are completely random and they yield an unexpected beauty when laid out on fabric. These torn holes question the protective nature of a quilt. The neighborhoods shown are not an anomaly; they are a recurring pattern seen from coast to coast, urban to suburban neighborhoods across the US.

Kathryn also writes a blog to inspire and inform other artists who work in the unique genre called Articraft: artists who use craft in their work and craftspeople who make art:
www.kathrynclark.blogspot.com