Quatre-aluminum foil , Oil on Fabric, Screen, Fabric, Wood and Aluminum. 2014. 40 x 29 cm.

Briefly describe the work you do.

My works are generally stretched canvases or textiles and works on paper that encompass a wide variety of subject matters that explore the elements of architecture, as well as formal issues like space, pattern, and perspective. Often they are cropped, cut, fold, pierced, stitched, and manipulated, these works refer to many of painting’s most long running concerns – genre and narrative, pictorial space and illusion, and color and texture.

Tell us a little about your background and how that influences you as an artist.

I grew up in the US, but as an adult I have spent most of my time living in Northern Europe and traveling. The exposure old urban cities and historical cultural sites have had a profound effect on way I view our contemporary landscapes and the details that make them up. I currently am living in Copenhagen and I am very interested to see the lifestyle and city will play apart in my work.

200 Quatrefoils, 200 Acetate quatrefoils and marker on cut dry wall. Site specific. 145 x 145 cm. 2014.

The concept of the “artist studio” has a broad range of meanings, especially in contemporary practice. The idea of the artist toiling away alone in a room may not necessarily reflect what many artists do from day to day anymore. Describe your studio practice and how it differs from (or is the same as) traditional notions of “being in the studio.”.

I would say that I am more of studio artist in the traditional sense, but more and more I am developing an appreciate and a desire to do more research based works.

What unique roles do you see yourself as the artist playing that you may not have envisioned yourself in when you first started making art?

The role of the artist in contemporary art is a very strange and curious thing that I am continually learning about. The more I think and learn about it the more it seems to become abstract.

When do you find is the best time of day to make art? Do you have time set aside every day, every week or do you just work whenever you can?

I tend to work best in the evening and nights, but my schedule does not really allow that. So I tend to work when I can, which is about 3 days a week right now.

Yellow Quatrefoil, Mixed Media on Canvas, Screen, and Wood. 2014. 105 x 80 x 5 cm.

How has your work changed in the last five years? How is it the same?

I like to think of my practice as a pendulum swinging from more representation to more conceptual abstractions. It seems that the pendulum changes direction every few years, but the subjects stay the same.

Are there people such as family, friends, writers, philosophers or even pop icons that have had an impact on the work you do?

There are dozens and dozens, but I think I am most influenced by google searching images currently.

If you had an occupation outside of being an artist, what would that be and why?

I think it would be my current occupation that helps pay the bills.

About

Eric’s works are generally works on paper and stretched canvases that encompass a wide variety of subject matters including empty interiors, landscapes, architecture, as well as formal issues like space, pattern, and perspective. Often they are cropped, cut, fold, pierced, stitched, and manipulated, these works refer to many of painting’s most long running concerns – genre and narrative, pictorial space and illusion, and color and texture. Eric continues to participate in the dialogue of Western painting while being fully conscience of the issues in the contemporary practices.

Born 1979. Eric Wall is an American/Swedish artist, currently residing in Copenhagen, Denmark.

He has exhibited paintings, sculpture, photography, video, and installation art in the US, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden. His one person exhibitions include shows at the Bolt Project Space, Chicago, Villavägen Sju Galleri, Sweden, ISM gallery, Denver, and Colorado State University. His work has also been included in exhibitions at the Cave Gallery, Detroit, Shoot the Lobster, New York, Lill Street Art Center, Hyde Park Art Center, The Chicago Artist Coalition, and The Built Festival, Chicago, Galleri Ett Annex and Galleri Linne in Sweden, the Space Gallery, Assembly Art Space and The Den Gallery in Denver, Jack Curfman Gallery, Colorado State University Directions Gallery, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Fort Collins in Fort Collins, Colorado. His work has been covered in The Chicago Tribune, Crain’s Chicago, Kulturstan Sweden, Detroit Free Press, and Matter Journal.

In the Studio

ericwall.org

All images copyright of the artist and used with their permission.