Busacca Gallery

Mark Erickson, an American painter, captivates viewers with the spontaneous and unchecked expression of energy in his paintings. The allure lies in the sensuality of the surface, providing a tangible sense of the artist's physical engagement with the canvas throughout the creative process. This connection is particularly pronounced in his recent works, where the conventional painting process appears inverted. Erickson's canvases feature smooth layers of the darkest black pigment intermingled with vibrant colors, concealing beneath them the markings of previous paintings. Much of this underlying artwork remains hidden, urging the viewer's imagination to reconstruct the composition from mere hints. Observing these pieces is akin to uncovering Pompeii beneath ancient lava, as if the paint has been peeled away to expose the canvas's underside. Mark's canvases exemplify an archaeological approach to contemporary painting. Rooted in Abstract Expressionism, a groundbreaking movement in mid-20th-century American art, Erickson's work now stands as a rich tradition and departure point. While influences from 1950s painters are evident, Mark's artistic direction is distinctly his own, breathing the fresh air of contemporary thought into his creations. The paintings on canvas evoke the image of abstracted modern-day color cartoons, twisted inside out, and forcefully splattered against a white wall. The Dutch-American painter William DeKooning once remarked that all paintings ultimately fall into the categories of landscapes, portraits, or still lifes. In Erickson's case, they are unequivocally landscapes, exploring both uncharted external terrain and internal realms. Born in Hollywood, California, Mark's early education spanned California, Germany, and Italy, reflecting a unique blend of East Coast aestheticism and Wild West freedom in his family history. His mother and grandmother, New York City artists, studied under Hans Hoffman and knew Franz Kline before and after World War II. His father, a jet aircraft designer and pilot, and grandfather, a cowboy and Marshal in the Dakota Territory, further contribute to the diverse influences shaping Erickson's artistic perspective. Erickson's paintings sometimes exude an urban energy, with whirring colors soaring across brightly lit metropolises. Perfectly formed shapes propel pigments off the canvas, transforming the flat plane into a vibrant, multidimensional experience. Through skillful modulation of color against color and form against form, Erickson draws the viewer into the artwork, creating an immersive journey within. His rapid progression in experimenting with various aesthetic issues is evident, culminating in the development of his own original and distinctive artistic voice.

The history of abstraction in art is a fascinating journey marked by a departure from representational forms towards the realm of non-referential expression. Emerging in the early 20th century, abstraction sought to distill the essence of artistic elements, liberating them from the constraints of realistic depiction. Pioneered by artists like Wassily Kandinsky and Kazimir Malevich, abstraction encompassed movements such as Cubism, Futurism, and Suprematism. These artists experimented with color, form, and composition, aiming to evoke emotion and spiritual depth without relying on recognizable subject matter. Abstraction continued to evolve through the mid-century with Abstract Expressionism, championed by artists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, emphasizing spontaneity and individual expression. Subsequent movements, including Minimalism and Op Art, further expanded the boundaries of abstraction, solidifying its enduring impact on the trajectory of art history.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art

Art is a diverse range of human activities and the products of those activities; which includes the creation of images or objects in fields including painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography, and other visual media. Until the 17th century, art referred to any skill or mastery and was not differentiated from crafts or sciences, but in modern usage the fine arts, where aesthetic considerations are paramount, are distinguished from acquired skills in general, and the decorative or applied arts.