SNS Art Program with Erin D. Garcia

The SNS Art Program, is a dedicated space where we feature one artwork from an artist curated by Art + Design Gallery Los Angeles HVW8. All proceeds of Erin D. Garcia’s artwork will go to the ACLU, a nonprofit organization, which works to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

Starting bid: 4500$ To place your bid on the piece by Erin D. Garcia, email [email protected]

About the artwork This 4th in a series of paintings by Garcia, made of vibrant gradients that travel beyond the canvas, was made using an improvised compass and fabricated wood frame that holds multiple brushes. This piece is composed of 3 arcs that were created by tying the brush frame to a nail then anchoring it off canvas. The nail, acting as the arc’s center, fixes the brush's motion to the arc’s natural curve. This process, combined with Garcia's trademark illuminated gradients, create near perfect overlapping arcs that stretch, expand, and vibrate across the work.

About the artist Los Angeles based artist Erin D. Garcia is best known for his large-scale colorful installations of floating and overlapping shapes. These deceptively simple forms have been distilled down to a short master list of fixed elements arranged by sets of rules that constantly shift and permutate. It’s developing and altering these systems that drive each piece to creation.

Interview with Erin D. Garcia

SNS: How influential is Los Angeles to you and your work process?

Erin: I’d say the city has less of an influence on my process but has a large influence on my work.

For years I’ve seen the city in large pieces, mostly freeways and neighborhoods; Downtown, the 101, Mid-city, but now I experience it in smaller sections; streets, storefronts, signs, and buildings; I’m now seeing the individual elements that create the larger picture. There are these flower shops that standalone at intersections, they sit in parking lots of other buildings, usually a body shop or strip mall. When viewed from across the street, it's layers of information, color, and movement. Planes of color interact with towers of text; ATM, ROSES, TRANSMISSION, DISCOUNT; phone numbers and family names compete for space. Drawings of flowers sit next to photos of calling cards and strong vertical lines define gates and walls while flags curve in the wind. People move in and out, walking by or waiting for a bus as cars speed by to catch a yellow light.

SNS: Your roots are in graphic design, how did you bridge over to a more classical street and installations approach?

Erin: Design is definitely an influence; I'm always looking to reduce the noise that surrounds an idea that I'm presenting. With installations, I was really just thrown into it. I made my first large installation for The Ace Hotel in Palm Springs curated by Junk Magazine. The founders of the magazine believed in me so, I tried my best not to let them down. That piece led to others and now, I feel that I have two practices; large installations and studio work.

SNS: Looking at your artwork, and reading about you and your work, we see a connection to musical arrangements and every piece feels like a three-dimensional illusion. “Large gradient #4” is part of a bigger series, have you used improvisation as a tool before?

Erin: I’d say my true background is in music; I’ve been playing drums since I was a kid, have been in several bands, and have made music for commercials, movies, and shorts over the years. Music is how I learned to create ideas; how to find and develop them and improvising is part of that process. Sketching is close to improvising. You stretch out as far as you can taking the parts you like, combining, and subtracting them until you find form and color to express the idea you're trying to get across. So you could say that "Large gradient #4" is the final iteration of an improvised idea.

SNS: We try to give our readers and audience a few hints on how to “make” it in this busy art world. Could you give our readers, who might be young and hungry, some tip on how to get a foot into the door?

Erin: Oh man, here’s a few things that come to mind: Make something every day.

I’ve found the only way to get to the good ideas is to work through the bad ones. When you’re working, don’t judge the work, leave the critique for when you’re finished. If you don’t like it, figure out why then, make it again. Consistent practice helps keep ideas moving; it’s like anything else you want to get good at, do it all the time, and you’ll get better. Draw everything; there are ideas everywhere, don’t feel like you have to always stay in whatever lane you’ve put yourself in. What you’re interested in is what you should make; your interest is where your passion is, and passion will get you through the process of doing it every day. Go to art shows, make friends: This is our era, the time we’re living in influences all of us, and our work reflects the times if we know it or not. It’s important to experience the work of others and see how these ideas manifest themselves. Talk to people, make friends; this is your community. I’m not saying be fake and network, I’m saying we’re all out here, trying to make beautiful things, so we’re already like-minded.

"Put your work out into the world"

I still fight with this one, but it's easy, take a photo and put it on IG. Don’t worry if it’s good or bad; post it if you like it. Show that you create work consistently; when you start sharing work, people will follow your progress. Make a website and put up your best work; not everyone wants to scroll through your IG feed. Take on all projects unless it seems like a terrible idea. It’s good to work, deadlines are good for you, and constraints are good for you. I’ve probably learned the most, and my technique and ideas have been pushed furthest when I was under a deadline. They’re paying you to become a better artist! Work as hard as you can and put out your best work; projects lead to other projects. If it feels like a bad idea, and you’re not just feeling lazy and entitled, don’t do it; it’s ok, you can say no.

SNS: Is improvisation a narrative we can see in your work frequently, or do you plan your artwork like architecture?

Erin: The final pieces are usually highly planned, but the process that I use to get there is improvised. I break the work into two parts; conceptualizing and making; this means I can focus on one step at a time. Ideas come from sketching which is improvised, then revised, and finalized. Colors and technique are selected while planning the piece. Then, when I start painting, most creative decisions have already been made, and I can focus on making the piece.

SNS: You have decided that the proceeds of your work should be donated to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), can you give us a quick introduction to the ACLU, and why you chose this nonprofit organization?

Erin: The ACLU defends individual freedoms, from speech and religion, a women's right to choose, to due process, and privacy. The ACLU spoke out against Japanese internment, joined with the NAACP to challenge racial segregation in public schools, and further supported the civil rights movement from the first lunch counter sit in. They’ve defended the rights of lesbians and gay men and supported marriage for same-sex couples. I chose the ACLU because they have a record of defending individual rights and liberties for all Americans that the Constitution and Bill of Rights promises.