ARTIST STATEMENT 2024
Thin Spaces: Ancient Celts used this term to describe sites on earth where the veil between this world and another is less solid, making the unseen and mystical seem more proximate and real.
While I don’t necessarily believe in places being sacred, I am fascinated by the idea that we can have resonant relationships with even the most rote architectural forms by transposing the ancient idea of thin spaces into a modern setting.
This series of paintings addresses the relentless presence of billboards in the LA landscape. Wrested from their role as didactic messengers of commerce, they become transportive rather than transactional, and suggest that perhaps one way to encounter another world is to engage more deeply with our own.
BIOGRAPHY
Eric Hesse was born in the Philadelphia region of Pennsylvania. As a student, he was introduced to the ancient medium of encaustic as a challenging and rewarding alternative to other paints. Over time he became fascinated with the malleable and durable nature of wax and pigment until they became his primary painting medium. After attending Temple University in Philadelphia, Hesse transferred to St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota where he received a BA with Departmental Distinction. Hesse has received awards from the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts, the Ballinglen Arts Foundation, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. He has exhibited in galleries throughout the US, including the Corcoran Museum in Washington DC, and is currently represented by the George Billis Gallery in Los Angeles CA. In 2018 Hesse received an artist residence permit from the French government and presently lives with his wife and son in a village in the department of Tarn.
Thin Spaces: Ancient Celts used this term to describe sites on earth where the veil between this world and another is less solid, making the unseen and mystical seem more proximate and real.
While I don’t necessarily believe in places being sacred, I am fascinated by the idea that we can have resonant relationships with even the most rote architectural forms by transposing the ancient idea of thin spaces into a modern setting.
This series of paintings addresses the relentless presence of billboards in the LA landscape. Wrested from their role as didactic messengers of commerce, they become transportive rather than transactional, and suggest that perhaps one way to encounter another world is to engage more deeply with our own.
BIOGRAPHY
Eric Hesse was born in the Philadelphia region of Pennsylvania. As a student, he was introduced to the ancient medium of encaustic as a challenging and rewarding alternative to other paints. Over time he became fascinated with the malleable and durable nature of wax and pigment until they became his primary painting medium. After attending Temple University in Philadelphia, Hesse transferred to St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota where he received a BA with Departmental Distinction. Hesse has received awards from the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts, the Ballinglen Arts Foundation, and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation. He has exhibited in galleries throughout the US, including the Corcoran Museum in Washington DC, and is currently represented by the George Billis Gallery in Los Angeles CA. In 2018 Hesse received an artist residence permit from the French government and presently lives with his wife and son in a village in the department of Tarn.
RESUME
EDUCATION
1994 St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, departmental distinction
1993 School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, Student exchange program, Fall semester
1991-89 Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 Where the Space is Thin, Billis-Williams gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2023 Pérégrinations; peintures récentes à l’encaustique, Chapelle St Roch, Puycelsi, France
2022 Recent Work, Atelier Galerie 44, Cordes-sur-Ciel, France
2018 Almost Not There, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2016 Someone Else’s Light George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2011 Recent Paintings, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2002 Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC - Fellowship in the Visual Arts Exhibition
2002 Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2001 Hahn Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2001 Allen/Thomas Gallery, Neenah, WI
2000 Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
1998 Hahn Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1998 Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
1996 Northfield Arts Guild, Northfield, MN
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 The Cityscape Show XIV, Billis Williams Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2024 Larroque Art Festival, Larroque, France
2021 Conditions Unseen, Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, East Hampton, NY
2021 The Cityscape Show XI, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2020 The Cityscape Show X, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2019 The Cityscape Show IX, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2019 Larroque International Arts Festival, Gallery Vielle Poste, Larroque, France
2018 The Cityscape Show VIII, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2017 The Cityscape Show VII, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2016 The Cityscape Show VI, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2015 The Cityscape Show V, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2013 The Cityscape Show III, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2013 Enchantement d’Argoat, Ronde des Artistes, St Caradec, France
2012 The Cityscape Show II, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2011 The Cityscape Show, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2011 Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2010 Cross-Pollination, Connection Through the Art of Encaustic, Surface Gallery, Bakersfield, CA
2008 “Melt My Art” Juried encaustic show, Bakersfield Museum of Art, Bakersfield, CA
2003 Grace Chosy Gallery, Madison, WI
2001 Art Center/South Florida, Miami Beach, FL
2001 Grace Chosy Gallery, Madison, WI “My Work and I” Recent work and a self-portrait
2000 Steensland Museum, Northfield, MN “Wax and Burn; Encaustic Art in Minnesota Today”
2000 Grace Chosy Gallery, Madison, WI; “Interiors”, a three-person show
1999 Hahn Gallery, Philadelphia PA; Four-Person landscape show
1999 Art of the State, Harrisburg, PA; Statewide juried exhibition
1998 Woodmere Museum, Philadelphia, PA; Annual Juried exhibition
1997 Adzak Museum, Paris, France; Canadian/American Exhibition
1997 International Design Center, Minneapolis, MN
1997 Contemporary Realism, Inaugural National juried show, Gallery Alexy, Philadelphia, PA
1996 Suzanne Kohn Gallery, Minneapolis, MN; "New Generation" - Emerging Minnesota artists
MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS
2023 First Biennial Exhibition, The Ballinglen Museum of Art, Ballycastle, Ireland
2008 Melt My Art, Juried encaustic show, Bakersfield Museum of Art, Bakersfield, CA
2002 Eric Hesse, Fellowship in the Visual Arts, solo exhibition, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
COLLECTIONS
Muzak Corporation, New York, NY
Art Museum of LaSalle College, Philadelphia, PA
St Olaf College, Rovlaag Gallery Northfield, MN
AWARDS
2024 R&F Handmade Paints, residency at Brown Pink House, Kingston, NY
2021 Gottlieb Foundation Individual Grant- finalist
2020 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Individual Artist Grant
2019 Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Ballycastle, County Mayo Ireland: artist residency
2003 Sotheby’s/Artlink International Young Art Finalist
2000 National Foundation for the Advancement of Art, Fellowship in Visual Arts, Miami, FL three-year Residency/Grant from 2000-2003
1999 Minnesota State Fair Merit Award, painting
1997 Adzak Museum Paris, France; Artist in Residence
1994 St. Olaf College Dean's List 1991-1994; departmental distinction
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Michael Clawson, “Impersonal Spaces”, American Art Collector, pg 4-5, December, 2018
Karen Bruckner, “5 Design Things To Do This Week” KCRW.com/DnA December, 2018
Annabel Osberg, “Pick of the Week” Artillery, 7 November, 2018
Kathy Zimmerer, “Tim Vermuelen and Eric Hesse” ArtScene, p.13, April, 2016
Jessica Dawson, “Time Warp at the Corcoran”; Washington Post, 1 August 2002
Mary Abbe, “Weekend Arts Review” Minneapolis Star Tribune, 3 November 2000
1994 St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, departmental distinction
1993 School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, Student exchange program, Fall semester
1991-89 Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 Where the Space is Thin, Billis-Williams gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2023 Pérégrinations; peintures récentes à l’encaustique, Chapelle St Roch, Puycelsi, France
2022 Recent Work, Atelier Galerie 44, Cordes-sur-Ciel, France
2018 Almost Not There, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2016 Someone Else’s Light George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2011 Recent Paintings, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2002 Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC - Fellowship in the Visual Arts Exhibition
2002 Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2001 Hahn Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2001 Allen/Thomas Gallery, Neenah, WI
2000 Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
1998 Hahn Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
1998 Groveland Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
1996 Northfield Arts Guild, Northfield, MN
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 The Cityscape Show XIV, Billis Williams Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2024 Larroque Art Festival, Larroque, France
2021 Conditions Unseen, Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center, East Hampton, NY
2021 The Cityscape Show XI, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2020 The Cityscape Show X, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2019 The Cityscape Show IX, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2019 Larroque International Arts Festival, Gallery Vielle Poste, Larroque, France
2018 The Cityscape Show VIII, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2017 The Cityscape Show VII, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2016 The Cityscape Show VI, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2015 The Cityscape Show V, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2013 The Cityscape Show III, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2013 Enchantement d’Argoat, Ronde des Artistes, St Caradec, France
2012 The Cityscape Show II, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2011 The Cityscape Show, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2011 Rosenfeld Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2010 Cross-Pollination, Connection Through the Art of Encaustic, Surface Gallery, Bakersfield, CA
2008 “Melt My Art” Juried encaustic show, Bakersfield Museum of Art, Bakersfield, CA
2003 Grace Chosy Gallery, Madison, WI
2001 Art Center/South Florida, Miami Beach, FL
2001 Grace Chosy Gallery, Madison, WI “My Work and I” Recent work and a self-portrait
2000 Steensland Museum, Northfield, MN “Wax and Burn; Encaustic Art in Minnesota Today”
2000 Grace Chosy Gallery, Madison, WI; “Interiors”, a three-person show
1999 Hahn Gallery, Philadelphia PA; Four-Person landscape show
1999 Art of the State, Harrisburg, PA; Statewide juried exhibition
1998 Woodmere Museum, Philadelphia, PA; Annual Juried exhibition
1997 Adzak Museum, Paris, France; Canadian/American Exhibition
1997 International Design Center, Minneapolis, MN
1997 Contemporary Realism, Inaugural National juried show, Gallery Alexy, Philadelphia, PA
1996 Suzanne Kohn Gallery, Minneapolis, MN; "New Generation" - Emerging Minnesota artists
MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS
2023 First Biennial Exhibition, The Ballinglen Museum of Art, Ballycastle, Ireland
2008 Melt My Art, Juried encaustic show, Bakersfield Museum of Art, Bakersfield, CA
2002 Eric Hesse, Fellowship in the Visual Arts, solo exhibition, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
COLLECTIONS
Muzak Corporation, New York, NY
Art Museum of LaSalle College, Philadelphia, PA
St Olaf College, Rovlaag Gallery Northfield, MN
AWARDS
2024 R&F Handmade Paints, residency at Brown Pink House, Kingston, NY
2021 Gottlieb Foundation Individual Grant- finalist
2020 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Individual Artist Grant
2019 Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Ballycastle, County Mayo Ireland: artist residency
2003 Sotheby’s/Artlink International Young Art Finalist
2000 National Foundation for the Advancement of Art, Fellowship in Visual Arts, Miami, FL three-year Residency/Grant from 2000-2003
1999 Minnesota State Fair Merit Award, painting
1997 Adzak Museum Paris, France; Artist in Residence
1994 St. Olaf College Dean's List 1991-1994; departmental distinction
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Michael Clawson, “Impersonal Spaces”, American Art Collector, pg 4-5, December, 2018
Karen Bruckner, “5 Design Things To Do This Week” KCRW.com/DnA December, 2018
Annabel Osberg, “Pick of the Week” Artillery, 7 November, 2018
Kathy Zimmerer, “Tim Vermuelen and Eric Hesse” ArtScene, p.13, April, 2016
Jessica Dawson, “Time Warp at the Corcoran”; Washington Post, 1 August 2002
Mary Abbe, “Weekend Arts Review” Minneapolis Star Tribune, 3 November 2000