The Rural We: Eric Wolf
A dear friend by the name of Jeff Bailey, who, like myself, is also a Board of Trustees member for The Shaker Museum, introduced me to one of the most intriguing people I’ve met in 2020. Eric Wolf is a reputable and established artist in Columbia County, and has some of the most reflective pieces of art that I’ve ever seen. When you can visualize yourself, or a place and time in your life where you could be in that painting — whether it was a good, or not so good time in your life, whether you were sure or unsure — it’s the reflection that becomes the connection. His work has been in museums in Paris, France, and Columbus, Ohio. You can feel reflected, connected and transported in one look.
JC: Eric, thank you for talking with me. I’d love for people to know a little about your history, and how you became a prolific artist.
EW: I have been an artist since I was a child. My parents were very nurturing of my creativity, and seemed to allow for, and run with, my creative impulses. I am grateful to them for that. I had a lot of strong support throughout public school with my creative projects, and I liked to switch from medium to medium, from sculptural weaving, to ceramics, and large-scaled tree sculptures wrapped in wire mesh. I did a lot of crazy things. It was all enthusiastically supportive. So going to art school was automatic, and I was happy and glad to go to RISD (Rhode Island School of Design).
JC: What has the last two decades of your career been like? Would you change anything?
EW: In 2001, I left a really, really fine gallery called Fredericks & Freiser. I had my three solo shows in New York there, and I had wonderful New York Times reviews for all three of those shows. Basically, I left that gallery, and I had one more show after that in 2006 at Jeff Bailey Gallery, including that canvas painting that you like. Then I retreated to doing my own thing, and withdrew from participating much in anything. In 2008, I went to Yaddo, which was fantastic. I felt strongly committed to the work I was doing, even though there wasn’t much interest in it.
The whole process for me is emotionally stabilizing. It has nothing to do with whether I show it or sell it in an exhibition. Maybe it was a mistake to withdraw from the artworld in 2001 when I was disappointed in how I felt things were going. It was a huge amount for a seemingly minimal return, with showing opportunities, or the feeling of what I did mattered. I don’t think that I could have changed anything under the circumstances. I did what I needed to do to try and feel comfortable with my life. My life was more important than whether my art was going to succeed in New York or anywhere.
JC: How important is your background, and your experiences in relation to your artistic expression?
EW; I never expected to be so attached to the landscape and landscape painting, but there are meaningful connections to my childhood that emerged once I launched into this project, which was the summer of 1989 at Skowhegan. It’s an artist colony summer artist program. I made many friends there. In my childhood, my family went on camping trips, and these were intriguing opportunities for me to experience nature in solitude. It was different from the nature of where I grew up in suburbia, where we did have nature, but just in limited chunks. In the natural environment and in solitude, I found that my imagination took off in many directions and I felt inspired.
JC: Do you have thoughts about the difference between a private sale at an establishment, as opposed to someone coming to your studio and purchasing one of your pieces?
EW: When people have made their way to my studio by whatever means, I’m usually willing to sell them art out of my studio at somewhat of a discounted price, because they’ve gone to the trouble of finding me, coming here, and being interested. It’s preferable in some ways to sell work from a gallery, where your work can be widely seen, and where people would not have personal access to find out about your work. Artists would usually give a percentage to a gallery. That’s because your work gets to a wider audience in places, and there’s the opportunity for your work to be reviewed in a public forum, like Two Coats of Paint, Hyper Allergic, The New York Times, Art Forum, Art in America, The New Yorker, etc.
JC: Outside of your art of painting, you also have some other skills that I would love for you to mention. Could you share?
EW: Yes, I love to design special projects, whether they are permanently unfinished, or for clients, who can afford to finish projects. I spent 20 years in New York City, building a wide array of projects. For many years I worked with a childhood friend, Douglas Cohen, owner of DHE Company, Inc. My biggest project was a 10-year project that I did for Julie Kidd, where I designed and built (with DHE) the headquarters of her family foundation, known as The Endeavor Foundation. It was a fantastic experience, because it was being built to last, as a continuing family institution. I also designed my own studio, with these giant outswing window doors. This was designed so that it can have flowing air and use natural light only.
JC: What are you most uncomfortable with, when it comes to any work that you do?
EW: Honestly, not being properly credited. I say that because recently, I designed a studio building for a friend. I did such a good job, she thinks she designed it herself.
JC: What is the difference between your legacy, and what you would be remembered for? And how important are both to you?
EW; I’d hope to leave a creative legacy, and that my work will have some resonance in the future with other artists. I think that a lot of artists hope for that. I am so grateful for older generations of artists, whose works have inspired me. Some years ago, in the early years of my landscaping painting, I unexpectedly discovered a pair of early 18th century artists, Ike Taiga and Tokuyama Gyokuran. They helped me visualize an extended version of the project that I was already working on. I would like to be remembered for my work, bringing people together, and expressing art with how I thought it was supposed to be. I really enjoy supporting other artists projects, and I love encouraging their work, and buying it, or trading, if they’re willing to.
JC: I’d love for people to know where they can find some of your work, and do you have work that is available for purchase?
EW: Some of my work is up on my website and my email is: eee@taconic.net. The first thing I’d like to mention is Oct 1st to the 15th is the upcoming Yaddo Virtual Auction, supporting artist residencies at the beautiful Saratoga Springs Yaddo artist residency campus. I’ll also be in an upcoming show, curated by Richard Saja at The Gilded Owl in Hudson. The show is called “Scenes from a Wintergarden.”
JC: I don’t think anyone has not experienced shifts and challenges in 2020. What do you think has impacted your life, and maybe even your creativity in 2020?
EW: The pandemic and the political situation have made it harder for me to concentrate and escape the everyday, and this worries me. On the other hand, I plan to build a cabin in Maine next summer, build my practice, and isolate myself in order to focus on my work. I’m engaged in visuals in support of the upcoming election campaign, and encouraging everyone I know to participate, in order to create an overwhelming victory.
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