Safe Harbors Ann Street Gallery is pleased to announce our latest exhibit, House Party: Paintings by Erica Hauser which opened with a virtual tour on Friday, June 19 on our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/annstreetgallery

From the Artist, Erica Hauser
My longtime seasonal job as a firewood stacker has recently made its way into my paintings, as I stack and arrange shapes guided by an intuitive feeling for the materials – here it is paint instead of wood pieces. I am influenced by mid-century design and hues; my mixtures are earthy, subdued and vibrant all at once, matching the juicy punch of neon or the dull glow of antique metal. I draw from nature, textiles, ceramics, typography, and vintage crayon colors, in thinking about how forms, patterns and textures coexist with each other.

I am absorbed by this new visual conception of objects, places and experiences as colors and structures, such as the way word-images like ‘party’, ‘paintbox’, and compound color phrases can be broken down and built back up into abstract, evocative piles. Many are painted flat and appear so, others are flat but seem to advance vibrantly or recede on the surface. In one ongoing series, I have been cutting irregular round shapes from wood and paint/assemble them into wall-mounted sculptures that occupy space between two and three dimensions. These in turn inspire new compositions in paint on canvas.

My concept of time and nostalgia is starting to shift as I focus less on era-specific objects and more on these resonant color/shape impressions, exploring where representation and emotion intersect.

About the Artist, Erica Hauser
Erica Hauser is based in Newburgh, New York and has a BFA (2002) from School of Visual Arts in New York City. Her paintings have been exhibited nationally, with a concentration in the Hudson Valley. From Jan 2013 through Jan 2020 she owned and operated Catalyst Gallery in Beacon, where she worked with artists to install regular exhibitions, curated group shows and hosted cultural events.

She has received several supporting grants, including a 2011 NYFA grant, and has attended artist residencies in New Mexico, Vermont, and upstate New York. In 2017 she was selected to participate in The Other Art Fair Brooklyn, with her work featured on Saatchi Art, followed by The Other Art Fair Bristol UK in 2018.

This exhibit will be on view through Saturday, July 12, 2020.
For more information, visit http://www.ericahauser.com
On Instagram @erica_hauser

To schedule a viewing, email: erica@ericahauser.com.
Thank you to our sponsor: M&T Bank