Erika Holden: Retrospective at Verve Cafe

Gisborne artist Erika Holden holds one of the painted rākau she has on sale at Verve Cafe as part of her Restrospective exhibition. Picture by Liam Clayton

A quote that resonates with Gisborne artist Erika Holden is from Pablo Picasso: “Art wipes from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

Erika has an exhibition, which is both personal and meaningful to her, on at Verve Cafe.

But what the viewer takes from her paintings is subjective.

Erika believes art should uplift you and make you think, but that it doesn’t really matter what the meaning is behind it, that it should be in the eye of the beholder, to interpret as they will.

Born on the East Coast at a farming station inland from Ruatōria, Erika identifies as a Coastie and uses imagery from her birth place including the pōhutukawa and the kōuka or cabbage tree.

In 2006 she moved to Hokianga to learn from artist Sue Daly who she had met years earlier while living in Auckland. Some of the works in her exhibition are from that period when she lived in the motorcamp on the harbour and often painted outdoors.

The symbol of the pohutakawa flower is on many of her paintings.

“There was a small pōhutukawa tree near where I was living and one day it burst into flower. It brought such joy.”

Another recurring symbol is that of the kōuka, which represents survival — the way it roots deeply into the earth and hangs on.

Erika cares very much about the environment and tries to recycle materials for her work. She uses old board for example and will often paint over an old painting.

One painting which is done on an old piece of board she found features lemons and lemonade.

“If life gives you lemons — make lemonade,” she says.

The works are painted in acrylic and the predominant colour palette features a lot of dark reds and varying degrees of black. She uses mixed media and collage and in one painting has layered tissue paper and painted over it. The work is diverse with various techniques on display like her use of rollers and rags. In one painting, rain has distorted the paint to great effect after she left it outside to dry and there was a sudden downpour.

While she gets a lot of inspiration from the beach — the storms, the light, the mood at dawn and dusk — she needs the stimulus she gets from working in her studio in Carnarvon Street.

“I feel too isolated at home in the day and like to be in town when I work,” she explains.

Erika always takes her camera wherever she goes so she can capture a moment or a scene to reflect on later and use as inspiration for her painting. She is soon to travel to South Carolina USA where she hopes to find more inspiration. She said her artistic journey was still very much a work in progress. Even during those times when she is not productive, she is working towards that next surge of creativity.