Maeve Young Erickson

Maeve Young Erickson

The 11^th Annual One of a Kind Show at the Merchandise Mart

Dec 1^st – Dec 4^th 2011

There will be over 600 artists showcasing and selling their work at the The 11^th Annual One of a Kind Show at the Merchandise Mart, (starting Thursday December 1^st and ending Sunday December 4^th), but there will be only one Maeve Young Erickson. A local encaustic painter, Erickson is showing in the city of Chicago for the first time…which is long overdue.

Encaustic painting is one of the most ancient of all mediums. Oil paint is added to bees wax, melted, and applied to heat resistant materials such as wood or masonite board. Since hot wax dries so rapidly, the artist must work quickly and accurately if they want to achieve certain effects. Erickson has developed a masters hand for this, as she has been creating pieces exclusively in encaustics for the past 50 years. But it’s not so much her technical proficiency that makes her special, rather it’s her talent for constructing the ultimate ephemeral landscape.

Simultaneously naturalistic and abstract, Erickson’s work gives the viewer a lot to take in. The multiple layers of color coupled with highly tactile surfaces give Erickson’s pieces a somber, yet promising, dream-like quality.

The Seiche, is not unlike being caught in a blizzard. Large swathes of white blind the viewer, only to expose some sort of mystical oasis on the horizon. Look closer and you’ll see faint traces of hot colors coming through the surface, giving the viewer hope in an otherwise desolate landscape. Erickson is not exclusive to these muted pieces, as seen in Nebulae. A large burst of blue crashes upon a multitude of bright colors, as if an ocean wave were enveloping a coast line. Again, there’s a calming quality in this piece despite its sense of “disaster”…much like what you’d experience in The Seiche.

Please take the time to visit booth # 2133 and soak in some of this truly unique work. Be sure to introduce yourself and ask questions. If anything you’ll learn more about an extraordinary artist working in art form that is as fleeting as the vistas in her work.

Similar Artists:

Rothko, Avery, Monet

Highly Recommended

John B. Reinhardt

The 11^th Annual One of a Kind Show at the Merchandise Mart / 222 Merchandise Mart Plaza Chicago, IL 60654/ Dec 1^st thru Dec 4^th / Multi Day Tickets $12 – Seniors / Students $9