Group 5 - Uprise Gallery- NYC - 2023
In his solo exhibition Group 5, Erin D. Garcia presents paintings that depict floral motifs created from fluid loops of saturated acrylic paint on canvas. This body of work continues Garcia’s exploration in abstraction by further developing his library of lines, arcs, and marks to create wholly new forms that reference flowers and fruits. In these gradient-inflected works, Garcia calls on object recognition to activate memories and emotions while also nodding to the cultural and historical significance of these forms.
Working in thin washes to allow the luminosity of the bright white substrate to shine through, Garcia’s palette is mixed quickly and efficiently. His brush nimbly lifts dabs of color with intuitive precision and moves the paint across the canvas where it mixes wet-into-wet with a chorus of other colors, transforming blots of pigment into blended, dimensional form. The effortless gesture of Garcia’s paintings is achieved through the transcendence attained through repetition, the reverie that takes over once an action becomes second nature, allowing the mind to refocus on subtle nuances and details.
Taking inspiration from the circular circuit and the repeated trajectory of the raceway, Garcia has found inspiration for this body of work from Group 5 cars, a class of racecars produced in Europe and The United States between 1966-1982. Precisely engineered powerful machines, the curvature of their bodies are interrupted by cuts and wings to produce aerodynamic and visually enticing effects.
The opposition between the visual and physical speed of Garcia’s still-life paintings and the racecars that inspire them creates a space to reflect on the seemingly disparate relationship between the two, drawing parallels between the momentum of artistic production and the velocity of a fast-moving car.
