Chicago native, Erik Beehn, paints and draws as part of a collaborative process in his latest installation at the MCQ Fine Art in Las Vegas. His work at the gallery can be attributed, in part, to his partnership with personal icon Ellsworth Kelly. Born in Chicago, raised in Las Vegas, and residing in Los Angeles, Beehn also works as a printmaker at Gemini Graphic Editions Limited.

Gemini G.E.L., one of the oldest printmaking shops in Los Angeles, might be seen more as an artisanal craft house than a typical commercial print shop. There everything is done one at a time and by hand – often as part of a limited edition series. It was at Gemini G.E.L. that Beehn first worked with American painter, sculptor and printmaker, Ellsworth Kelly. Beehn worked as a project collaborator at the L.A. print shop, where his focus was to be an extension of Kelly’s voice, to maintain integrity of the project, and to meet the artist’s expectations. Kelly brought an acute attention to detail and fine-tuning to his abstract interpretations. According to Beehn, Kelly’s prints were some of the most difficult he had ever worked on. They would spend weeks perfecting color tone by mixing several pounds of ink a day.

Kelly is largely recognized as a leading abstract painter of the last few decades. His articulation of the shape of a shadow, the space between buildings, and landscape is minimal, but not simplistic. With such tedious execution of perfection, it is easy to see how Kelly has greatly influenced Beehn’s own work of still life flora derived from his personal narrative.

Beehn’s exhibition showcases his latest drawings, photo collages and wallpaper installations mounted on Dibond aluminum composite material. The ultra flat surface and lightweight quality of the aluminum composite is an appealing substrate for artists to mount their work. The mixed media paintings range from black and white to bright representations of flowers with acrylic paints layered on inkjet prints. The Dibond mounting gives the abstract floral meditations substance and durability.

The Chicago born artist claims his greatest influence from his icon, is the inability to settle for results he is not happy with. It’s the laser focus on each detail of shape and color that influenced him most from his icon to his mixed media designs. Between growing up in hotels on the Vegas strip, going to school in Chicago, and working in Los Angeles, Beehn has experienced a varied degree of exposure to the art world in each city. His work has evolved from landscape into mixed media still life and continues to draw from a personal narrative.

information and photography courtesy of Nevada Public Radio