Erin Elman
Pasacaglia A, 2022
acrylic on canvas
20 x 20"

About the work

Painting is a way that I explore the world - events, people, places, ideas, cultures, and feelings. It is how I make the unfamiliar familiar to myself and the way I negative. This is especially true for me when I travel and explore human histories that feel both foreign and familial at the same time - most especially Etrsucan sites in Italy. These places make me full of awe and wonder - but at the same time I am drawn to them as if they are part of my ancestral memory. By drawing and painting the objects left behind by these mysterious cultures - I make them my own and feel them as part of my own lived experiences. That is how I interpreted this call for work - and that is how I approach my pairing practice. these works embody that process for me.

Bio

Erin Elman was born in Brooklyn, NY where she was raised by two remarkable New York City public school teachers who exposed their daughters to all of the great art and culture of New York City. She received a BFA in Art from Carnegie Mellon University and also studied in Rome where she fell in love with Etruscan art and ruins. She received an MA in Art Education and an MFA in Book Arts/Printmaking, both from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Elman is the dean of Graduate & Professional Studies at the University of the Arts. She has artwork in numerous public and private collections, including the Tate London. Elman lives in a stone cottage in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia.

erinelman.com