Vision
For me, art is not a vehicle for ideology or commentary, it’s an act of presence. I approach each piece without a predetermined plan, letting intuition guide the way. My process is fluid and responsive, shaped by the moment rather than by fixed ideas. This allows me to stay open to possibility, reacting to color, form, and movement as they evolve.
Even when the outcome appears bold or chaotic, there is peace in the improvisation. Each work becomes a visual echo of my internal landscape, sometimes calm, sometimes agitated, but always honest. I don’t create to declare something; I create to feel. This is my way of being present with myself, and of honoring the fleeting, powerful nature of each moment.
Even when the outcome appears bold or chaotic, there is peace in the improvisation. Each work becomes a visual echo of my internal landscape, sometimes calm, sometimes agitated, but always honest. I don’t create to declare something; I create to feel. This is my way of being present with myself, and of honoring the fleeting, powerful nature of each moment.
Inspiration does exist but it must find you working. — PABLO PICASSO
Statement
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.
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.
The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery. –– FRANCIS BACON