Eric Uhlir (American, b. 1979) grew up in Southern California and earned his BFA from the University of Texas at Austin in 2003. His work is both figurative and abstract, examining the Anthropocene in the context of art history. He exhibited at IA&A at Hilyer in Washington, DC in 2019 and with Caitlin Berry Fine Art at Culture House in 2021. His work is held in private collections internationally. He keeps a studio in Washington, DC.
Uhlir’s inspiration dates back to his childhood, visiting the LACMA with his mother and flipping through art catalogs. His early memories of Dutch masters and abstract expressionist paintings set the scene for today’s paintings. Uhlir continues to visit galleries weekly to soak in as much history as possible and find new ways to allow historical motifs to shine through in his work.
From figuration to abstraction, Uhlir has focused on exploring his voice as a painter and developing a style that feels the most dynamic. It’s a process that allows the incorporation of a much broader array of potential references and ideas in any given painting. Uhlir’s skills of mark-making and resolving compositions are linked to his physical relationship to the scale of the artwork. His use of a large canvas allows the many layers and minute moments room to breathe.
“Much of my practice examines our present day through the lens of art history and our relationship with the natural world. We often feel that our challenges are unique to our present time and the product of our preoccupations, but often current moments trace distinct paths from events in the past. Many of my series, like Trophic Cascade and A Perilous Loop, explore similar themes through different lenses – the repetition of history depicted in most museums but often overlooked.”
