Erik Foss (born 1973) is an American artist and curator based in New York City, known for his work in painting, collage, sculpture, and photography. In the early 2000s, he co-founded the bar Lit Lounge and its adjoining art gallery, Fuse. Foss's work incorporates autobiographical themes, American iconography, and pop culture references, often using airbrush techniques and neon color palettes.[1]
Foss was born in Elgin, Illinois and raised primarily in Chandler, Arizona, following his parents' separation.[4] He grew up skateboarding in a trailer park.[3]
He began drawing in childhood, influenced by cartoons. His father was a toy designer who worked on He-Man figures.[3] Foss has cited an airbrush illustrator he knew as a kid as an early inspiration.[5]
In 1994, Foss witnessed a homicide committed by a police officer. He testified in court and appeared on television about the case; the officer received a life sentence.[6] This event prompted his move to New York City in 1996.[4]
Over 15 years, he organized more than 180 exhibitions at Fuse Gallery, including a solo show by H. R. Giger, the artist's first in New York in over a decade.[1]
Art and exhibitions
Foss is a self-taught artist who works in painting, sculpture, photography, and installation.[9]
His first major solo exhibition, Avarice, which opened in 2011 at Mallick Williams & Co., consisted of abstract works in red, orange, and black.[10]
Foss collaborated with the clothing label Supreme,[1][2][3] Unique Board on the Everyday Is Halloween sculpture series,[2] as well as with Bandai Namco and Deathwish skateboards. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he launched his "Cobra" series through Instagram Live sessions.[4]
Foss's artwork explores themes of trauma, identity, and American consumer culture.[10] He has cited childhood trauma and growing up around addiction as having influenced his frequent use of childlike imagery.[5] He creates distorted and psychedelic imagery of snakes, cartoon figures, smiley faces, and rainbows in his cultural critique.[10][3][11]
Critical reception
Art critic Carlo McCormick connects Foss's work to American cultural identity and class, writing that Foss draws from "that lowbrow mix of hot rods, punk rock and skateboard graphics, black light posters, gang graffiti, lowriders and tattoos endemic to American youth of the post-war era."[11] McCormick contrasts Foss's approach with traditional American desert painters like Georgia O'Keeffe and Frederic Remington, describing Foss's landscapes as "the desert you find airbrushed on the sides of vans, a wily picturesque that has nothing to do with beauty."[11]
Personal life
Foss lives in New York City. He is dyslexic,[3] sober, and vegan.[4]
Exhibitions
Solo
Avarice, Mallick Williams & Co., New York City, 2011[10][12]
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Padre Gallery, NYC, 2020[13]
Serpents & Rainbows, New Image Art, Los Angeles, 2021[13]
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