Today we’d like to introduce you to Erik Grau.
Erik, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started making drawings when I was a child. My mother encouraged me to be very creative. I studied sculpture at Carroll University before moving to Boston, Massachusetts to pursue an MFA in sculpture at Boston University. I have always balanced visual art-making with my interests in special education, and I studied Applied Behavior Analysis and Education at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and began working full time as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Boston Public Schools Kindergarten inclusion teacher.
I recently completed a residency at Watertown’s Room83Spring. I am currently a member of Boston’s MUSA Collective, an artist owned and operated gallery space that focuses on increasing artistic dialogue with the larger Boston community. I am also the president of the Piano Craft Gallery, a community run non-profit gallery space in the South End.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I work in my studio evenings and weekends when I’m not teaching in the classroom. Contemporary artists working now have more challenges than artists in the past. Most of us have huge amounts of student debt, decreasing studio spaces, and a less interested art market. Studio space in Boston has always been challenging for me to obtain, and I’ve been working from a home studio for the last seven years. Many of the artists buildings have either converted to luxury loft living, or have had little turnover in residents making it harder and harder to find an appropriate live/work space. This limits the scale of the work I have been able to create. I’ve needed to pivot from making large installation pieces to a more modest body of work in painting. While it has been a challenge to switch disciplines, it has provided me with new knowledge and opportunities. Another challenge has been balancing my professional life with my studio practice. I’ve learned that everything I do needs to be planned out and deliberate. This has helped me focus and plan in all areas of my life.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I’m currently working on a series of paintings, sculptures, and small installations titled, “Cats and Crystals.” It has been interesting to hear the response in regards to this juxtaposition of subject matter. This series developed in response to my career as a traveling behavioral consultant and public school Kindergarten teacher. The home environment became increasingly more important in my life. The need for quiet stillness motivated me to curate a home filled with objects of importance, that when viewed together, address repetition and order.
My paintings, sculpture, and installations focus on the positive energy associated with the crystals and minerals I collect, and incorporate my specific interest in cats in the forms of accumulated knick-knacks and the depictions of my two companion animals. The work developed as a way of representing my quiet and still home environment to share with the viewer. I love when people view my work and comment that they feel a sense of home.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I used to wake up early in the morning during my summer vacations, video tape the drawing instruction shows and PBS, and work along with them for hours learning perspective and how to develop volume.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.erikgrau.com
- Email: erikgrau85@gmail.com
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