

"By using her art to step outside the sanitized views of mortality and grieving that permeate our culture, Hess has steadied herself and explored new emotional and psychological depths. If those viewing her work are inspired to do the same, that is the greatest compliment they can give to Hess and her art. Of course, they might also notice that she is a very original colorist as well."
- John Seed
Solo Exhibition: How Long Has It Benn Since You've Been Outside
Marietta College: Gallery 310
February 3 - April 14, 2022
A puddle is both familiar and magical. It is the everyday and the spectacular. Peering into it, our minds wander and our imagination flows to that which we have forgotten, like to childhood, when we played and splashed in water with insouciance and total bliss.
In a puddle, we see the world and ourselves reflected to us in a new way. We ask, What else my transient friend? We look deeper. Our minds drift. Existence expands in puddle dreams. Our new perspective carries us to the sacred, the human connection we have to bodies of water, no matter their size, and we appreciate the silent contemplative moment.
Rarely do I speak so candidly about my exhibition selections, however, having Erika b Hess’s puddle paintings in Gallery 310 is, in my mind, a gift to campus:
a gift of stillness
a gift of experiencing a true painter’s painter
a gift of a generous empath doing the healing work of our time.
Director’s Notes
Jolene Powell
Past Work:
9" x 12"
9" x 12"
9" x 12"
Oil on panel 24" x 30"
Oil on panel 12" x 12"
oil on panel 24" x 30"
oil on panel 24" x 30" 2021
oil on panel 24" x 30" 2021
oil on panel 24" x 30" 2021
Oil on birch panel 24" x 24" 2021
oil on panel 24" x 24" 2021
oil on panel 24" x 24" 2021
oil on panel 24" x 24" 2021
oil on panel 48" x 36" 2021
oil on panel 48" x 36" 2021
oil on panel 48" x 36" 2021
oil on panel 12" x 12" 2021
oil on panel 12" x 12" 2021
oil on panel 12" x 12" 2021
oil on panel 12" x 12" 2021
oil on panel 12"x12" 2020
oil on panel 12"x12" 2020