As if life isn't hard enough they have to tear out your flowers: Heidi Cho Gallery, New York, NY
For Immediate Release:
As if life isn’t hard enough they have to tear out your flowers
T.R.Ericsson
October 11 – Nov 3, 2007
Opening Reception: Thursday, October 11, 6-8 pm
Heidi Cho Gallery is pleased to present the first solo show in New York of T.R. Ericsson.
A native of Ohio, T.R. Ericsson first came to New York in 1991, when he attended the Art Students’ League. Currently Ericsson divides his time between New York and Ohio, and the fertile Midwestern state—known for the diversity of its artists and writers—continues to provide a birthing ground for his imagination. He is a classically trained artist, having worked as a portrait painter for a long period of time. In more recent years Ericsson’s interest in literature, philosophy, and art history has induced him to find a contemporary way to explore his inner conflicts.
In 2001 Ericsson founded Thirst magazine. This art serial, available widely through book distributors, signified a turning toward the artist’s own biography to seek the authenticity of an individual’s experience. He began to broaden themes first explored in Thirst into larger multimedia works.
The current exhibition is an attempt to put in order the artist’s particular memories about his mother and his troubled relationship with her. He comments upon the sense of misplaced feelings experienced through his personal loss. Along with this, T.R. Ericsson expresses his concern about the fragile limits between public and private life. His work is elusive, difficult, caring, obtuse—but nonetheless poetic.
Ericsson opens an intimate door, allowing us to experience the vulnerability of his mother’s personality. The artifacts that he presents, such as those in Susan and I Just Want to Go to Sleep (both made with an alcoholic cocktail mix), are fragile and irreplaceable—as is each and every individual life. His works offer a paradox: simple and difficult at the same time, like the people they seek to represent. They are, in the end, expressions of love and explorations of himself, his past, and his present; imbued with a tight narrative that distills the character and personality of his subjects.
T.R. Ericsson’s work is influenced by the writings of Søren Kierkegaard and interconnected with the art of Marcel Broodthaers, Bas Jan Ader, and especially Felix Gonzalez-Torres. His poetic gravitates between the solitude of the inner world and the stillness of life and death. By urging viewers toward the non-comfort zone, in which they are forced to question the magnitude of personal emptiness, he speaks for those who have no memorable histories, and gives them a voice.
Heidi Cho Gallery was established in the spring of 2003 in the heart of the Chelsea gallery district, with the intention of promoting the work of mid-career and emerging contemporary artists. It is our mission to showcase a wide spectrum of international artists working in diverse media such as painting, video, photography and installation. Since its inception our gallery has shown artists from different backgrounds and origins, and has actively participated in cutting-edge international arts fairs.
Thanks to Rob Hudak, William Gilbert, and Marc Laporte for exhibition music.
Available for free public download at robhudak.com
Heidi Cho Gallery is located at 522 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10011. For more information contact Rafael DiazCasas, Director, at 212-255-6783, or rafael@heidichogallery.com.