Erika Lawlor Schmidt | Of Earth and Astral Plane
Elizabeth Rowland Mayor Gallery
July 26-August 24 | Opening reception: Friday, July 26, 5-7 PM
Lawlor Schmidt’s process is shaped by the recognition and inquiry into cyclical tendencies, including the contemplation of life cycles: birth, death, and rebirth. She has been interested in this throughout her life. Surroundings reveal all that exists in a constant state of flux and the physical world including the body, all material things, trends, technologies, reputations, families, and fortunes all of which eventually change, die, and fade away. While she recognizes the reality of impermanence, she also senses the presence of a connective yet unseeable life force that moves, shapes, and holds us together, revealed in elegant but mystifying ways through the physical world. This exhibit features two distinct yet related bodies of work that are unified in the expression of that idea. The monotypes, Opening and Closing the Gate to Heaven, is a series of monotypes that originated as cloud studies in early 2020 that abruptly shifted to a direct and visceral response to the onset and evolution of the global pandemic. The monotypes reveal dark and ominous clouds, stark landscapes, hollowed-out forms, and shadowy shapes that morph into even more surreal locations resonating with paranormal influence. The series explores a porous border between the physical world and the spirit world. The collages, Birds of Earth and Astral Plane is a collection of collages with pointed references to all kinds of birds. Lawlor Schmidt shares the view with many indigenous cultures that have thought of birds as messengers from heaven or symbols of departed souls. This collection of collages reflects a deep reverence and concern for the fate of birds as they are “the canary in the coal mine.”
Erika Lawlor Schmidt | Biography
Erika Lawlor Schmidt works in diverse visual and performing art media including printmaking, analog collage, 3D assemblage, and theatrical dance/ live art media performance. Her work is profoundly influenced by investigations of Eastern philosophies and the study of nature and consciousness. She received her MFA from the University of South Florida in Tampa following post-baccalaureate studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Instituto de Arte San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. Her work is in numerous public and private collections and is widely shown in national juried and invitational exhibitions. Lawlor Schmidt is the founder and artistic director for Vital Spark Performance Group, an interdisciplinary performance ensemble that has produced projects across the U.S. and Europe
