Esther Erlich

Gratitude to the aura of summer is what spurred Eye Can See Your Halo for Australia’s notable portrait painter, Esther Erlich. In May 2022 Fox Galleries presents Erlich’s gang of self-possessed gutsy provocations- female representations that use the gaze to challenge the status quo.

When Erlich said “I felt like we needed a gang”, I knew exactly what she meant, her large-scale painting ‘Cat and Mouse’ responds to the barrage of reality that is 2022. Erlich has spent the last few months, like most of us, stricken with a little nostalgia while appealing to the fleeting crown of light that the summer brings.

Prudent brush strokes, commanding poses and intense gaze give this series of portraits a feel of intimate conduct between the viewer and the image.

Esther’s vivid use of colour and pulled back palette provocate courage and a vexing strength. Her steadfast poses with the smattering of abstract marks and swift overlaid minimal lines suggest movement, alongside the use of the unequivocal stare, her portraits redirects assumptions from the historical passive gaze to a space of conscious presence that forecast dynamic emotions and sense of self.

Erlich paints with courage and zest. Contemporaneous painting techniques that inform the conversations occurring within her characters. Realism. Abstraction. Graffiti. Bright emerging faces and gestural hands energise her steady intent to get your attention. To take notice.

Esther Erlich as a female painter has developed over time as a campaigner for expressions of the feminine as progressive, playful and self aware. Her compelling portraits, move away from the traditional muse and her long stints in the studio produce a tender recognition of the power of paint.

While summer slips away from us, the mirage of rich red and yellows shine brightly through Erlich’s vivid imagination.