Erika b Hess’ “Hidden,” “Joy,” and “Galaxies” on display in the Fowler-Kellogg Art Center.
This summer is Erika b Hess’ first in her role as Sydelle Sonkin and Herb Siegel Artistic Director of Chautauqua Visual Arts, overseeing the artist residency programs, School of Art curriculum and guest faculty. She’ll give a lecture at 6 p.m. tonight in Hultquist Center as part of the CVA Lecture Series.
Outside of Chautauqua, Hess is a visual artist and the host of the podcast “I Like Your Work.” She received her MFA from Boston University.
Currently, Hess’ work — vividly colored oil paintings, surreal in their depictions of the world — is on view as part of the ongoing “Simpatico: Works by 2024 School of Art Faculty” on the second floor of the Fowler-Kellogg Art Center.
Hess said her lecture will finish with a discussion about the work on view in “Simpatico,” which is some of her more recent work, and she recommended Chautauquans visit the exhibition beforehand in order to have more context and background for the lecture.
Hess’ work explores femininity and the natural world, specifically bodies of water like puddles. For Hess, this is a way of exploring contemplation and the metaphorical and literal reflective associations of puddles. Stemming from an interest in Jungian psychology, Hess is captivated by Jung’s assertion of the relationship between bodies of water and the unconscious spirit.
Hess said she is very excited for the upcoming lecture, and she’s adjusting the content of her presentation to cater to the specific Chautauqua experience that she has noticed in her time here. During her lecture, Hess said she plans to discuss both her own artistic practice and an evolution of her work, as well as her experience in arts administrator roles.
She said she believes the audience will likely know more than most do about her background and where she is coming from as an artist, so she plans to focus more specifically on the “emotion and poetry behind art-making.”
“We’ve had so many fantastic artist talks here that discuss the concept and how things are created, and I’m going to be talking more about these ideas of the slow read of a painting,” she said.
