Erin Loree, Good Intensions, oil on canvas. Courtesy of Project Gallery
As I made my way through the impressive crowd present at Erin Loree’s: GRIT/SHEEN opening night, I immediately fell in love with the luminescent swirls of light, the exquisite gradients of colour and the quasi sculptural impasto of oil that characterizes her innovative abstractions.
The uniqueness of Erin Loree’s style can be explained, in part, by her particular technique. She initiates her creative process by brushing delicate gradient of colour on the background of each canvass. Then, she spreads a thick layer of oil all over the support and steers it with homemade squeegees! By this means, she is able to produce astonishingly bright swirls of paint intertwined with imposing multicoloured masses without ever compromising the harmony of her palette. Even if Loree’s pieces vary a lot in sizes (from 6”x 8” to a majestic 60” x 84”), the emotional charge transmitted by her art works remains the same. Each canvas conveys a vivid expression of energy and movement grasped in time, where radiant light seems to emerge from within.
Camila Jourdain
*Exhibition information: Erin Loree Solo: GRIT /SHEEN, October 1- 14, 2015, Project Gallery, 1109 Queen Street East, Toronto. Gallery hours: Wed – Sun 12 – 5 p.m.