Erin Fostel: The Weight of Absence
Rosenberg Gallery
The architectural drawings Erin Fostel is currently working on came about through grieving the loss of her father in late 2014. He was an architect who enjoyed exploration, always interested in finding new ways to get from here to there. She wanted to create a body of work that served as both a commemoration of his life, and a relief from the heartbreak of his death. She started exploring parts of Baltimore City she did not know well. At some point, she began taking photographs of certain buildings and structures that caught her attention, ones she thought would have been of interest to her dad. These ruminations, explorations, and photographs have become the foundation for her new body of work. Fostel’s goal is not to simply document buildings. She wants to capture feeling, either her own somber feeling or a feeling she thinks a building can personify. She often manipulates the light and dark areas within her compositions, taking artistic liberties when applying the charcoal. As she has progressed in the series a desire to leave parts of the structures unfinished has developed, alluding to a sense of loss or emptiness. The challenge of balancing highly rendered areas with the underlying minimal framework of lines has become a focus, one that she anticipates will evolve as her exploration of the city continues to deepen. To leave the framework of the drawing visible is an attempt to reveal not only the immensity of the structure, but also the immensity of her grief. In the Weight of Absence exhibition, Fostel is also including artifacts of her father’s life. Created as a small memorial that spans from his birth to his death, she has gathered objects that were a part of his daily life as well as some that have been exhumed from boxes after his death. Some of the objects are everyday things, like a hat, a shirt, or a pen. Simple items that now hold more significance. Some of the objects have been stored away and had never been seen or discussed prior to his death. Along with these artifacts Fostel also provides written reflections, words that may describe the story of the object or her personal connection with it. The hope is that as the viewer walks through the memorial they will get a sense of the life that was lived, the man who was loved, and understand the weight of his absence.
Lovely Lane Methodist Church 2017 charcoal and graphite on paper 7� x 7�
Behind the swell 2016 charcoal and graphite on paper 42� x 28�
Latrobe Homes 2017 charcoal and graphite on paper 38� x 51�
The weight of absence 2016 charcoal and graphite on paper 26” x 40”
To hold close until breaking 2017 charcoal and graphite on paper 102� x 35�
From the toolbox: Concise Circular Slide Ruler photograph 7” x 7”
From the toolbox: The Miter photograph 7” x 7”
Henry Fostel Landform map of the United States date unknown ink on vellum 17�x 12.75�
Henry Fostel Blythwood Plans 1987 plotter printed and hand marked with pen 24�x 36� (unframed)
Erin Fostel Born and raised in Baltimore, Erin spent her early years copying characters out of her brother’s X-Men comic books and writing highly dramatic soap operas on her grandmother’s typewriter. A love for drawing and storytelling led her to the Maryland Institute College of Art. Upon graduating in 2004 she stayed in Baltimore and has maintained a studio in various locations around town, including a cold dark basement infested with prehistoric-sized crickets where she couldn’t stand up straight. She loves to draw. Even though she appreciates that the world is full of amazing colors she enjoys pushing the tonal boundaries of charcoal, which is her primary medium.
Erin Fostel: The Weight of Absence June 10 - August 13, 2017 Artist’s reception: Tuesday, July 18, 2017, 6-8 p.m.
Rosenberg Gallery GALLERY HOURS
DIRECTIONS
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Friday 410-337-6477
Baltimore Beltway, I-695, to exit 27A. Make first left onto campus.
www.goucher.edu/rosenberg The exhibit is free and open to the public. The Rosenberg Gallery program is funded with the assistance of grants from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency funded by the state of Maryland and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as the Baltimore County Commission on the Arts and Sciences. COVER IMAGE Philadelphia Christian Church, 2017, charcoal and graphite on paper, 17.75” x 17” BACK COVER IMAGE The intangible expanse of a last breath, 2016, charcoal and graphite on paper, 27” x 37”
17413-5756 01/17