Eric Elliott
Seattle resident Eric Elliott completed his Masters of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he was nominated for Excellence in Teaching. He completed his undergraduate work at the University of California, Berkeley, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Art Practice. He also received numerous accolades during his time there, including Highest Honors in Art, Highest Distinction in General Education and a Certificate of Excellence in Drawing. In addition, Elliott received the James Phalen Art Scholarship and the Maybelle Toombs Art Scholarship for his studies.
Elliott’s work has been exhibited around Seattle, Washington, including the James Harris Gallery and the Jacob Lawrence Gallery. He has also exhibited in and around Berkeley, California, at the Worth Ryder Gallery, Berkeley Art Museum and Morrison Library.
Teaching has been an important part of Elliott’s art career; early experience as a teaching assistant included working with Associate Professor Zhi Lin at the University of Washington. Elliott now offers classes around the greater Seattle area, including here at Gage Academy of Art.
To see more of Eric Elliott’s work, please visit his web site, www.elliotteric.com.
Artist's Statement
Much like scientists in search of a unified field theory to explain the underlying unity of the physical world, I am searching for a visual equivalent to a unified theory. I am looking for a way of creating that shows the idea that all things are interconnected and one, that everything is part of a larger whole. At the same time, I want to make visible the fact that although things are connected they still differ. Ultimately, I wish to depict the paradox of interconnected individuality.
In my current work, I use the still life as a point of departure to depict the concept of interconnectedness. The cluster of objects that make up the still life is a metaphor for other clusters, like a molecule is a cluster of atoms or a human being a cluster of cells. The objects in the still life come together to make a larger form. I work within these larger forms, blurring edges as if the objects are being carved out of a slab of rock. I am interested in this shape as a whole but still want to allow some individuality to the objects within. At times I take away the name of a specific object and in some instances completely cancel out an object's identity. In this way, the objects start to become more a part of a whole than individual things.
To create a stronger sense of unity I have limited my palette to four pigments (red, blue, yellow and white), and all my colors start from a neutral gray mixed with the primary colors. I use this neutral gray as a unifying base and then lean that gray towards warm/cool, dull/saturated and light/dark. I try to keep everything close to the neutral base and depending on how much I push the color, the objects emerge from or dissolve into the ground. There is a heavy build up of paint that becomes almost relief, as I search for the balance between focus and letting the composition fuse into one. The thick paint acts as a screen, and adds another level to the painting which brings the viewer's attention back the two-dimensional aspect of the canvas, and the fact that everything they are looking at is on one plane. I am interested in this flux between two and three dimensions that painting allows.
My primary challenge is how to get my materials to work on a two-dimensional surface to express the idea of interconnectedness. My artwork emerges from the exploration of the medium in dialogue with this idea. In each piece, I experiment with different compositions, marks, mediums, and ideas in search of the perfect combination. This dream of a perfect combination is what drives me on. Working from my beliefs about the world I explore not just my medium but myself, for I believe that everyone has to find themselves in what they do.
Much like scientists in search of a unified field theory to explain the underlying unity of the physical world, I am searching for a visual equivalent to a unified theory. I am looking for a way of creating that shows the idea that all things are interconnected and one, that everything is part of a larger whole. At the same time, I want to make visible the fact that although things are connected they still differ. Ultimately, I wish to depict the paradox of interconnected individuality.
In my current work, I use the still life as a point of departure to depict the concept of interconnectedness. The cluster of objects that make up the still life is a metaphor for other clusters, like a molecule is a cluster of atoms or a human being a cluster of cells. The objects in the still life come together to make a larger form. I work within these larger forms, blurring edges as if the objects are being carved out of a slab of rock. I am interested in this shape as a whole but still want to allow some individuality to the objects within. At times I take away the name of a specific object and in some instances completely cancel out an object's identity. In this way, the objects start to become more a part of a whole than individual things.
To create a stronger sense of unity I have limited my palette to four pigments (red, blue, yellow and white), and all my colors start from a neutral gray mixed with the primary colors. I use this neutral gray as a unifying base and then lean that gray towards warm/cool, dull/saturated and light/dark. I try to keep everything close to the neutral base and depending on how much I push the color, the objects emerge from or dissolve into the ground. There is a heavy build up of paint that becomes almost relief, as I search for the balance between focus and letting the composition fuse into one. The thick paint acts as a screen, and adds another level to the painting which brings the viewer's attention back the two-dimensional aspect of the canvas, and the fact that everything they are looking at is on one plane. I am interested in this flux between two and three dimensions that painting allows.
My primary challenge is how to get my materials to work on a two-dimensional surface to express the idea of interconnectedness. My artwork emerges from the exploration of the medium in dialogue with this idea. In each piece, I experiment with different compositions, marks, mediums, and ideas in search of the perfect combination. This dream of a perfect combination is what drives me on. Working from my beliefs about the world I explore not just my medium but myself, for I believe that everyone has to find themselves in what they do.