Art Opening - Erika Larskaya

On Exhibit in the Jamie Gagarin Gallery: May 25 - July 10

"Impermanence" - Mixed Media

ARTIST STATEMENT:

“My work is driven by experimentation, essential for my growth as an artist. I explore shape, texture, and color using various media, finding inspiration in unexpected materials like rusted metal or beach debris. I create interesting textures with coal, tissue paper, eggshells, and more, utilizing quick-drying acrylics and latex paints for spontaneity. My style blends conceptualism, minimalism, and abstract expressionism, reflecting impermanence and the beauty of contrasts. The seemingly chaotic final result embodies my mind transitioning to calm, capturing fleeting moments before they take shape, free from expectations and regrets.”

ABOUT THE ARTIST: 

Erika Larskaya is an abstract artist who specializes in acrylics and mixed media. Originally hailing from St. Petersburg, Russia, she made the journey to New York City in the late 1980s at the age of 21, eager to learn English and build a new life for herself. After studying design at the American Business and Fashion Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina, she briefly pursued a career as an interior designer. However, her true passion lay in being at home with her children and dedicating time to painting. She began exhibiting her work in 2008. While she has received formal training and appreciates traditional foundational skills like figure drawing, her love for experimentation and pushing artistic boundaries has led her to develop a unique methodology and technique that allows her to express the emotions that are felt but not easily seen. Inspired by other female artists who have overcome adversity and societal challenges, she creates her art from her studio in northwestern Connecticut.

For more information about Erika, visit her website at https://www.erikalarskaya.art/