I Feel Like I'm Finally Finding My Voice In Abstract Art
Update on Erika Ranee
Gasoline Rainbows, a solo exhibition of Erika Ranee’s paintings and works on paper, is on view at LMAKgallery, New York, April 30, 2016 - June 5, 2016.
Jennifer Samet's "Erika Ranee" (May 28, 2016) in Hyperallergic's "Beer With An Artist" series is a thoughtful and revealing exchange with the artist.
IRAAA+ first surveyed Erika Ranee’s work in the Fall 2015 “Each Painting Becomes A Puzzle —The Problem Solving Art of Erika Ranee” article by Diana McClure.
We’re amazed at the rapid evolution of Ranee’s style and technique. There is logical and yet surprising progression from the work we showed in the 2015 article to her new paintings and works on paper such as Ipswich, Fucked Up Flowers and Big People.
Ranee continues develop a facility to show how dramatic — in narrative ways (as well as in visually striking ways) — abstraction can be. The narrative of abstraction that Ranee is mastering is a wordless "story" so dramatic, it generates fantasy. Some of that fantasy is lush, sensual, organic. Some is foreboding. Some is enchanted and 
foreboding. Many moods in the recent and current work, including intellectual and playful.
Influenced by abstract expressionists such as de Kooning, Ranee is among the standout artists who are advancing contemporary forms of abstraction. She deserves major recognition.
When we congratulated her on the current show, Ranee said: "I'm excited about the new direction of my work in this show. I feel like I'm finally finding my voice in abstract art."
Ranee recounts her struggle to move beyond figurative abstraction to less literal expression in her interviews with Diana McClure and Jennifer Samet. And now she's in the second break-through period of her career.
If you can't get to the gallery before Gasoline Rainbows closes, view it on the artist's page at the LMAKgallery site.
All images shown here are courtesy of the artist and LMAKgallery.