Erik Laffer: Mapping out a life structured by art
Erik Laffer has a cartographic interpretation of life.
Saratoga Springs based artist Erik Laffer has always understood life visually and found means to express himself artistically, but it wasn’t until he packed away his beloved Picasso books and took time off from regular museum pilgrimages that his unique vision started to emerge — an abstract style emerged that was entirely distinct from his earlier “Picasso-esqe” figurative works. He calls it “cartographic” art.
Erik’s work is abstract but references the concrete world through an implied horizon line, suggestions of structures and routes, and a vocabulary of symbols. Like a map, though, the paintings are only one way of interpreting things. Erik sees his work as a journey that is different for each person.
“It’s a map . . . a map of my world. Places I’ve been, people I’ve met. If you have a map of Alaska or a map of Florida, if you look at them, they almost look . . . like any map does: a lot of colors, roadways, keys. But if you follow a specific highway, or in my instance, a line or a certain texture, or a symbol, it takes you to a completely different place. And that’s how my paintings work.”
Erik is also the owner of The Laffer Gallery in Schuylerville, N.Y., located just 10 minutes east of downtown Saratoga Springs.
The Laffer Gallery has experienced great success since opening in . Its growing reputation throughout New York’s Capital Region and beyond is due to Erik’s exhibit philosophy, which is based on pairing a local artist with an artist from outside of the area in order to highlight local talent yet introduce new ideas and aesthetics to regional art collectors.
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