110 http://www.AmericanArtCollector.com
“T
hroughout history humans have
made vessels to hold water, among
other things. But, in a way, humans are also
vessels,” Portland, Oregon-based painter
Aimee Erickson says while discussing her
upcoming solo exhibition at Meyer Gallery
in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which runs from
August 30 through September 7.
While vessels are an element seen
throughout the series, Erickson elaborates
that, “To me, in the moment when I’m
making a painting I’m not actively thinking
about this stuff.”
Known for still lifes marked by a
masterful depiction of light and texture, her
work often considers the interplay between
nature and the human experience.
“How does nature hold us and how do
we hold nature?” she asks. “I think a lot
about how much we are really connected
to our own nature. How do we reconnect
if we lose that? There’s so much healing
in the natural world for us, and still lifes
literally bring that indoors. They’re a great
reminder that nature is in us.”
Erickson’s painted figures, primarily
women—which she considers vessels of
life—are representative of this connection.
In Something to Think About, a woman sits
alone at a table in contemplation.
“I was working on a bigger surface and
wanted to have a lot in there,” she says.
“I had an idea to include a person and had
the opportunity to have this young woman
sitting in there. What is noticeable about
when there is a figure in my paintings [is
that] it’s such an interior moment for them.”
Straying from the commonly voyeuristic
portrayal of women in artwork, Erickson
instead gives her female subjects a narra-
tive of their own, respecting the voice and
power they bring to each painting.
“No matter the subject, I want my paint-
ings to carry some kind of vitality or life
spirit, while also being inviting and inter-
esting to look at,” she says.
Adding another layer of visual interest,
several of the works in the same series have
also been backlit.
“Backlighting is an unusual setup for a
still life,” she says. “But I really like back-
lighting because I like my paintings to beAIMEE ERICKSONNature versus Nurture
UPCOMING SHOW PREVIEW / MEYER GALLERY
8/30-9/7 Santa Fe, NM1
By the Window,
oil, 24 x 30"
2
Quince & Cornish,
oil, 18 x 18"
3
Something to Think
About, oil, 30 x 30"
4
Big Setup with
Daffodils, oil, 24 x 35"12