Meet Chris Erickson: Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chris Erickson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, how does your business help the community?
Art is the ultimate unifier. In a world of extreme polarization and dissenting beliefs, art has the ability to unite people across the spectrum of humanity. Art builds community. Art transcends all racial and ethic boundaries. Art provides meaning and understanding to the inexplicable. 

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As an artist I see myself as a reporter, absorbing all that is thrown at me through my senses, processing these discoveries and experiences and then distilling all of this information in the form of a visual language. In a world of constant stimuli and a bombardment of every sense, I feel like it is necessary to digest all of this information and then filter out the nonsense. Making art helps me achieve this by considering what is important, profound and relevant while discarding the remaining nonsense. This distillation of experience and subsequent translation through visual art, helps me makes sense of a chaotic world and facilitates the celebration of this life.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Obviously it’s a unique time due to COVID, and it’s difficult to have the full experience in the Roaring Fork Valley that a friend would have had a year ago. However, pre-COVID I would have recommended an evening or two in Aspen. Seeing a show at the Belly Up after getting a drink at the Public House and dinner somewhere in town. We have incredible access to some amazing Mountain Bike trails right on the edge of town in Carbondale, Basalt and Snowmass. Mountain biking is my go to sport.. I love sticking around Carbondale and seeing familiar faces at Batch, Roaring Fork Beer Company’s tasting room. Other than that, spending time at my house up Cattle Creek, enjoying these views and cooking good meals from home is sometimes the real local experience.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My mother is a retired teacher from the public school system, so growing up I developed an appreciation and understood the value in an education. As a student, the instruction and guidance I gained form my instructors was instrumental in the development of myself as a person and an artist. My instructors provided a framework and pathway for success as an individual and inspired myself to pursue a career in the arts, something I wouldn’t have believed was possible. In hindsight, I believe the respect I had for my mother and her profession enabled me to embrace my instructors along the way and absorb what they had to teach.

Website: www.ericksonchris.com
Instagram: @chrisericksonart
Facebook: Chris Erickson