Artist Q & A: Eric Louie

For his new solo exhibition Seeing Through, Vancouver based artist Eric Louie shines a light on the genesis of his sculptural abstract forms, and discusses his allusion to landscape and the effect of creating art in both the analog and digital worlds. Seeing Through opens at Bau-Xi Vancouver on Saturday October 19 and runs through October 31, 2024.

Eric Louie, Mood Ring. Oil on canvas, 53 x 53 inches.


1. You are well known for your signature sculptural, foil-like forms in which you create the illusion of metallic shimmer. When and how did you first develop this technique?

I’ve gone through many styles and periods of experimentation in my career. At one point, when I was going from representational towards abstraction, I was using a multitude of “tricks” where there were many mash-ups happening. Over time I felt more and more of a draw towards the concept of something sculptural and physical. I love still life, especially those aspects where light is refracted and reflected - how things can give off an energy or presence. Basically, I was trying to find the way that worked best for me to convey this, which ended up being through colour gradients. I began building up gradients in contained sections with clean edges - they have all that elegance and drama I’m trying to impart.

Eric Louie, You Complete Me. Oil on canvas, 48 x 48 inches.


2. Your works often suggest land forms – do you find inspiration in particular land forms or types of landscapes?

I feel like almost any painting could convey or speak to landscape. I tend to follow the rules of gravity in my work, so there is a respect for the nature of things. I do have a love for the desert with its eroded rock formations and cacti which are amazing to see - a lot of my work speaks to this type of world in my mind. It’s the closest thing to another planet on this earth, and completely opposite to life here in the Pacific Northwest which I find fascinating. Many of the works in this collection operate within a void, but there’s always that hint of physical space.

Eric Louie, Mind Reader. Oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches.


3. Your new collection features variations of a new form which makes a sort of window that frames a bright centre. Can you share how this composition evolved and what it symbolizes for you?

The framed-in formation has been brewing for a few years or longer. I’ve always envisioned them as two figures coming together creating an experience or relationship - in some ways a portal or way of seeing things in a new way through this relationship. Symbolically, two become one, which is the basis for most life.

Eric Louie, Gemini Moon. Oil on canvas, 66 x 66 inches.


4. Can you tell us about the significant presence of luminous, variegated blues in this new collection?

Each piece addresses temperature in some fashion. The majority of the works play off neutral grounds to help see those colours our create more awareness of them. Mood Ring could have been a most fitting title for this collection. At the far end we have Gemini Moon delving into a dreamlike nocturnal space, a testament to the glory of deep shimmering blues.

Eric Louie, Above the Influence. Oil on canvas, 40 x 94 inches.


5. You regularly utilize an iPad as the primary tool for sketching your compositions, once saying that “there is a tension in my mind between the purity of working completely in analog space and the technological filter that has become essential to my current process.” With the ever-increasing presence of AI in the realm of art creation, have you noticed any shift in your perception of your usage of this tool? Does it now feel perhaps simpler and more tactile in comparison to before?

Working with the iPad is certainly more hands-on and I have complete authorship using it as a tool. I can’t imagine relinquishing control to AI but it is an interesting and controversial subject to approach in the arts these days. In the end it’s about the human experience, which AI can’t replace.

The artist in his Vancouver studio.