Artist Statement

As an artist, I find inspiration in conflicting perspectives. I am interested in the evolution of an individual’s perspective under the pressure and demands of societal ideals. I am interested in the distortions among institutions when the behavior of affiliated individuals opposed the societal norms within that social structure. My work has been created to dissect the individuals perspective by making reference to our self-created environments, and by exploring how the reflexive nature of social action contributes to the formation of personal identity and beliefs. Perspective is nothing more than interpretation, though it is often held as actuality. I occasionally paint in others’ perspectives because the painting’s interpretation of the subject is of no importance, only the idea of perspective.

My work consists mainly of figurative oil paintings in a somewhat narrative, highly subjective style. I tend not to work in series, but instead approach each piece as the end to an idea. The works are informed by my obsessive practice of sourcing and compiling a wide range of representational and abstract imagery from high and low cultures. From the images I produce a kind of painted collage wherein the individual components have been matched and re-matched countless times with different peers until the ideal mates become unmistakable. I work in this way, letting the union of images develop slowly over time so as to be sure everything I’d like to express in the piece is properly represented. My paintings are meant to be read and analyzed. The observer is meant to place themselves in frame to experience the unfolding of a sequence, urging them to make a decision – a decision about the relationship between identifiable social variables like race, religion, income, gender, education, et cetera, and a decision on the outcomes of the individuals within the work. As nature and cultural differences have it, not all viewers will have matching interpretations –  once again serving my interest in conflicting perspectives.

Artist Bio

Eric Kasper was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1987. Receiving no formal art education, his techniques were all self-taught and developed by a desire to explore the depths of the medium. He works predominately in oils, a practice he began in his late adolescence and continues with today. Early influences ranged from Matisse and the fauvists to Klimt, Schiele, and anything else the Nazis wanted destroyed. After his first year of work he was accepted into a respected Phoenix art gallery, and two years later he was featured in a solo Upcoming Artists exhibit at the West Valley Art Museum. In the time since his work has often been displayed in the Arts District galleries of Downtown Phoenix, and paintings of his were chosen to be album covers of highly regarded bands, Boys & Frogs and Emby Alexander. Eric Kasper still lives and works in Phoenix, Arizona.