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. He became active in the Lower Manhattan art scene in the early 2000s, co-founding the venue Lit Lounge and its adjoining Fuse Gallery. Foss's work incorporates autobiographical themes, American iconography, and pop culture references, often using airbrush techniques and neon color palettes.[1]
His projects and collaborations include work with Unique Board, artist The Sucklord, and a capsule collection with Supreme.[1][2][3]
Early life
Foss was born in Elgin, Illinois and raised primarily in Chandler, Arizona, following his parents' separation.[4] He has described his upbringing in a trailer park as economically challenging but culturally diverse.[3] Diagnosed with dyslexia during school, he was later identified as intellectually gifted, with reported IQ scores exceeding 170.[3]
He began drawing in childhood, influenced by cartoons and suburban Americana. His father, a toy designer, worked on articulation for He-Man figures, an early influence on Foss's visual language.[3] Foss was inspired to become an artist after observing his father's bartender, who was also an airbrush illustrator.[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, along with other traumatic experiences, prompted his move to New York City in 1996 at age 23. Despite being accepted to art schools, Foss chose a self-directed path.[4]
In 2002, Foss co-founded Lit Lounge and Fuse Gallery in Manhattan's East Village, which became a hub for contemporary art and music.[7] Over 15 years, he organized more than 180 exhibitions, including a solo show by H.R. Giger, the artist's first in New York in over a decade.[1]
Foss's artwork explores themes of trauma, identity, and American consumer culture through symbolic, often distorted imagery. His first major solo exhibition, Avarice, opened in 2011 at Mallick Williams & Co., marking the tenth anniversary of 9/11 with abstract works in red, orange, and black tones.[9]
He has since exhibited at Kaikai Kiki Gallery (Tokyo), New Image Art (Los Angeles), Padre Gallery (New York), and Cellar Contemporary (Italy), among others.[10] Group shows include presentations at Perry Rubenstein Gallery, HOFA Gallery, and Museo de la Ciudad in Mexico City.[11][12]
Foss collaborated with Unique Board on the Everyday Is Halloween sculpture series,[2] and co-created a bronze self-portrait sculpture with artist and toy designer The Sucklord, who helped assemble the first model.[3] His "Cobra" series launched during the COVID-19 pandemic through Instagram Live sessions.[4]
He was later invited by Takashi Murakami to exhibit at Tokyo's Kaikai Kiki Gallery[13] and contributed work to a fashion collection by Supreme.[1]
Themes and style
Foss is a self-taught artist, stating that his development came through lived experience rather than formal training.[14] He works across media, including painting, sculpture, photography, and installation. His style often blends psychedelic elements, cultural critique, and recurring motifs such as snakes and cartoon figures.[3]
He has cited childhood trauma and his experience growing up around addiction as formative in shaping his frequent use of childlike imagery.[5] Foss typically favors oil paints and dark color palettes, including black, red, and hot pink.[5] His paintings frequently incorporate pop culture symbols like smiley faces, rainbows, and landscapes.[15]
Critical reception
Art critic Carlo McCormick has positioned Foss's work within broader discussions of American cultural identity and class, noting that "cultural identity is crucial to the imagery of Erik Foss' recent body of paintings," and 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."[15]
McCormick contrasts Foss's approach with traditional American desert painters like Georgia O'Keeffe and Frederic Remington, describing Foss's aesthetic as "the desert you find airbrushed on the sides of vans, a wily picturesque that has nothing to do with beauty."[15] McCormick argues that "Foss' basic language of the debased is wrapped up in a disquieting complexity, serving up the guilty pleasures of empty signifiers and easy/cheesy logo-ism," creating what he describes as "comfort food you know is patently unhealthy for mind, body and soul."[15] He has described Foss's practice as "fetishist abstraction," marked by emotionally charged compositions and conceptual distortion.[16]
Personal life
Foss lives in New York City. He became sober at age 33 and follows a vegan lifestyle.[4] He is an advocate for mental health and has used art as a coping mechanism and commentary tool. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he hosted virtual exhibitions on Instagram.[1]
Exhibitions
Solo
Avarice, Mallick Williams & Co., New York City, 2011[9]
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Padre Gallery, NYC, 2020[10]
Serpents & Rainbows, New Image Art, Los Angeles, 2021[10]
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