Eric Eickmann at SEABA Gallery
by Karen M. Geiger
Eric Eickmann is a diverse and talented painter. His current work moves steadily away from the more strict linear abstractions of his past. Instead, Eickmann’s show of his most current work focuses on abstract expressionism.
The largest piece, a 3’x5’ acrylic on paper titled Median is awash in color fields, heavy lines and mark-making. Red, ochre, blue, white and black are predominant. Moments of writing bleed through the canvas and ghostly blocks rise from the heavily under painted canvas.
Other work, like Nun, acrylic on wood, is a more intimate piece. The central image, a nun in her habit, is surrounded by abstract forms. The wood is used as a background, with large areas left untouched. The outer frame has become part of the work, this time in a collection of pink, orange and brilliant blue.
Religion, or at least, religious images populate the entire collection. One series is a group of small prints on handmade paper. Eickmann titles this work Print Assembly, which displays crosses and a repetitive fish motif. Hand-drawn pages under glass on a wooden table are made with paint and markers. They, too, bear crosses and, in one, a church is seen in the distance. Yet another larger abstract painting is titled Madeline.
With such diverse and compelling images, Eickmann pulls you into his work – leaving you wanting to spend more time with each piece. The many layers he uses are not only literal, but appear to be metaphorical as well.
