Eric Cruikshank
- Work
- Biography
Taking landscape as an initial starting point, my paintings are not about literal representation, instead the focus is on the emotive qualities of place. Using an objective palette tied to the Scottish landscape, colour acts as a vehicle to reveal the picture planes underlying points of reference.
The paintings are characterised by their subtle colour gradations, often appearing predominantly as a single hue from a distance. Up close the paintings unfold as a series of shifting sensations, one colour pulsing with or against another. With the unique qualities of each individual pigment and their unique handling application, every painting becomes a new challenge to find a balance in application and presentation.
The work looks to invoke a condition, the spirit of place that is conceptually framed by time, memory, and the accumulation of experience. They operate as a bridge between abstraction and representation – but function as both at once – neither impression can be isolated, as each continuously emerges from and recedes into the other. The plane offers a sense of space for the imagination of the viewer, where the open colourfields gently provoke a personal response and serve as a point of connection. A period of quiet focussed looking is required – where fragments of recollections emerge - raising questions about what can appear familiar, with definitive answers only reflecting a loss of possibility.
The paintings are characterised by their subtle colour gradations, often appearing predominantly as a single hue from a distance. Up close the paintings unfold as a series of shifting sensations, one colour pulsing with or against another. With the unique qualities of each individual pigment and their unique handling application, every painting becomes a new challenge to find a balance in application and presentation.
The work looks to invoke a condition, the spirit of place that is conceptually framed by time, memory, and the accumulation of experience. They operate as a bridge between abstraction and representation – but function as both at once – neither impression can be isolated, as each continuously emerges from and recedes into the other. The plane offers a sense of space for the imagination of the viewer, where the open colourfields gently provoke a personal response and serve as a point of connection. A period of quiet focussed looking is required – where fragments of recollections emerge - raising questions about what can appear familiar, with definitive answers only reflecting a loss of possibility.
Education
1993 - 1997 BA (Hons) Painting and Drawing, Edinburgh College of Art.
Selected Solo and Joint Exhibitions
2024
Open Light (with James Lumsden), Inverness Museum and Art Gallery.
An Echo, Holly Johnson Gallery, Dallas.
2023
Anmutungen (with Stephan Ehrenhofer), Galerie Albrecht, Berlin.
Light from a Shared Place, &Gallery, Edinburgh.
2022
Point of Departure, Schacky Art & Advisory, Dusseldorf.
2021
Breathing Space (with Michael Craik), Victor Lope Arte Contemporáneo, Barcelona.
The Skies Window, Holly Johnson Gallery, Dallas.
2019
Reductive in Nature, Schacky Art & Advisory, Dusseldorf.
A Stillness that Contains Movement, The Briggait, Glasgow.
2018
Paper Skies, Holly Johnson Gallery, Dallas.
2017
Clear Light Day – Soft Dark Night, DAS ESSZIMMER, Bonn.
2016
Repetition Takes Form, AIS Gallery, Shibukawa.
2015
Plus | Minus | Repeat, Sleeper Gallery, Edinburgh.
Selected Group Exhibitions and Fairs
2024
Drawing Now Paris with Galerie Albrecht and Patrick Heide Contemporary Art.
London Art Fair with &Gallery.
2023
All Over Again, Patrick Heide Contemporary Art, London.
Perpetual Arrival, Platform-A Gallery, Middlesbrough.
Paintings, Holly Johnson Gallery, Dallas.
2022
St Nicholas, Meakin + Parsons x Hannah Payne, Oxford.
Anonymous Drawings, Galerie im Kornerpark, Berlin.
Dallas Art Fair with Schacky Art & Advisory.
2021
Art Miami with Schacky Art & Advisory.
A Generous Space, Hasting Contemporary, Hastings.
Art Cologne with Schacky Art & Advisory.
In Sequence, Holly Johnson Gallery, Dallas.
Landschaft – Abstrakt - Figuarativ, Galerie Albrecht, Berlin.
2020
A Selection for Art Cologne, Schacky Art & Advisory, Dusseldorf.
Drawer Project, PHOEBUS Galerie, Rotterdam.
Gebert Contemporary, Santa Fe.
Paint vs Colour, Five Walls Gallery, Melbourne.
Art Palm Beach with Schacky Art & Advisory.
2019
Beneath the Surface, City Art Centre, Edinburgh.
Should I Stay or Should I Go?, Patrick Heide Contemporary Art, London.
1993 - 1997 BA (Hons) Painting and Drawing, Edinburgh College of Art.
Selected Solo and Joint Exhibitions
2024
Open Light (with James Lumsden), Inverness Museum and Art Gallery.
An Echo, Holly Johnson Gallery, Dallas.
2023
Anmutungen (with Stephan Ehrenhofer), Galerie Albrecht, Berlin.
Light from a Shared Place, &Gallery, Edinburgh.
2022
Point of Departure, Schacky Art & Advisory, Dusseldorf.
2021
Breathing Space (with Michael Craik), Victor Lope Arte Contemporáneo, Barcelona.
The Skies Window, Holly Johnson Gallery, Dallas.
2019
Reductive in Nature, Schacky Art & Advisory, Dusseldorf.
A Stillness that Contains Movement, The Briggait, Glasgow.
2018
Paper Skies, Holly Johnson Gallery, Dallas.
2017
Clear Light Day – Soft Dark Night, DAS ESSZIMMER, Bonn.
2016
Repetition Takes Form, AIS Gallery, Shibukawa.
2015
Plus | Minus | Repeat, Sleeper Gallery, Edinburgh.
Selected Group Exhibitions and Fairs
2024
Drawing Now Paris with Galerie Albrecht and Patrick Heide Contemporary Art.
London Art Fair with &Gallery.
2023
All Over Again, Patrick Heide Contemporary Art, London.
Perpetual Arrival, Platform-A Gallery, Middlesbrough.
Paintings, Holly Johnson Gallery, Dallas.
2022
St Nicholas, Meakin + Parsons x Hannah Payne, Oxford.
Anonymous Drawings, Galerie im Kornerpark, Berlin.
Dallas Art Fair with Schacky Art & Advisory.
2021
Art Miami with Schacky Art & Advisory.
A Generous Space, Hasting Contemporary, Hastings.
Art Cologne with Schacky Art & Advisory.
In Sequence, Holly Johnson Gallery, Dallas.
Landschaft – Abstrakt - Figuarativ, Galerie Albrecht, Berlin.
2020
A Selection for Art Cologne, Schacky Art & Advisory, Dusseldorf.
Drawer Project, PHOEBUS Galerie, Rotterdam.
Gebert Contemporary, Santa Fe.
Paint vs Colour, Five Walls Gallery, Melbourne.
Art Palm Beach with Schacky Art & Advisory.
2019
Beneath the Surface, City Art Centre, Edinburgh.
Should I Stay or Should I Go?, Patrick Heide Contemporary Art, London.
- Eric Cruikshank
- C-029
- Oil
- Eric Cruikshank
- C-031
- Oil
- Eric Cruikshank
- L-024
- Oil
- Eric Cruikshank
- L-025
- Oil
- Eric Cruikshank
- P-056
- Oil
- Eric Cruikshank
- P-067
- Oil
SHARE THIS PAGE