Radar Redux.com is expanding the traditional concept of journalism, to cover a wide array of Baltimore Arts and Culture.
Erin Fitzpatrick studied at Maryland Institute College of Art and is a well-known figurative artist. Especially in the Baltimore area where most of her subjects come from. While some of her favorite artists are Fairfield Porter and Alex Katz who created figurative work , her other influences range from Wayne Thiebaud and Edward Hopper for their color in shadows, to Willem De Kooning and graffiti artists for paint application. But the prominant influence of Fairfield Porter’s mark and bold shapes of color when painting the figure can be seen her work, as well as Alex Katz choice of portraiture that has a wide range of subjects and compositions that relate to the models persona. When mentioning Alex Katz, Erin says her “upcoming series capture’s that mid-century pop art aesthetic of his portraits”. Her contemporary flair is clearly reflective of her using Facebook pictures and magazines as a source. To hear that she is inspired simply by the application of paint to a surface was odd, but when you see her body of work it is clear that she is, and how Willem De Kooning and graffiti play a role. Her paint strokes (which consist of big thick strokes and shapes of color) are a very stylized and effective way of catching her subject’s likeness that leave her viewers thinking “that’s so simple”. However upon trying to mimic the style, they’ll realize it’s her ability to observe color that makes those big strokes and what seems like random color choices so effective. Her inspiration for a subject matter also often comes from people who have” relations to the exhibition space” that she’s already scheduled to show in. For example she said “for an event booked by the Baltimore City Paper I drew a dozen CP staff members. In another case, a 20-piece solo exhibit at the University of Baltimore, faculty, staff, and students were included among the subjects”. When she goes to a gallery she says “What I look most for in an experience is to be inspired to make art myself”. She is opened to get inspired anywhere she goes she states, “seeing something that inspires me, whether that be an amazing painting or a great vintage can label, can actually be an adrenaline inducing experience. It can be as far from a museum as just catching the time of day when amazing light is cast on a row house. These things keep me going and feeling like there will never be enough time to make the paintings that I need to”. The act of making art alone inspires her as well, she enjoys the “challenge to solve new problems”, while having “something new to look forward to”. She likes work to be relevant which is a standard she holds to her own work as well, so even though she paints a traditional subject matter, she wants her version of the portrait to be “fresh and applicable to the contemporary art world”. Her ability to be so open-minded to inspiration makes her an even better artist to inspire too.
Review by Jessica Walther
I was misquoted a few times in this piece… I shoot all of my own source material and have never used facebook or magazine images. No big deal, but that’s something I’d like to clarify. Cheers.
December 11, 2011 10:21 pm