Erik Gonzales, “Olympus Mons I”, 2016, Pigmented Plaster, Powdered Marble, Acrylic Emulsion, Acrylic and Charcoal on Canvas
Phoenix artist Erik Gonzales’s mixed media works refernces both nature and history. He incorporated various material in his art, including clay, acrylics, marble dust, and plaster.
Erik Gonzales was born in 1973 in New Mexico and was raised in Arizona, Colorado and Connecticut. In 1990 he moved back to Arizona and attended Arizona State University where he graduated with honors. Gonzales studied in Madrid in 1995 obtaining a second degree in Spanish Studies and Literature.
It is Gonzales’s Spanish heritage that continues to have a profound influence on his work creating a dichotomy of new and old. The analytical side of his work can be traced to his father whose pioneering career as a nuclear pharmacist introduced the artist to the world of science at an early age. The deep textures and bold use of color represents his mother’s Andalusian background and continues to influence his use of mystical imagery within his work.
Reblogged with many thanks to thunderstruck9: