New Artwork Brings Color to Shaw Center

Longtime Graceland supporter JR Shaw, whose significant generosity led to the magnificent Shaw Center, recently gave yet another gift of art to Graceland University. The Shaw lobby is now adorned with a large original oil and acrylic on panel entitled “Slice” by Erin Loree. The painting makes a statement, measuring 86 X 68 and demands attention with its strong composition and bold color.

The richly expressive paintings of Erin Loree are suffused with vibrant hues and swirling with the rhythms of life. Her original voice captures the quality of impermanence she views as an essential aspect of life. The movement, balance and spontaneity in her abstracts are created by both applying and removing paint; a dance that brings the best in abstract expressionism.

The artist graduated with a BFA in Drawing and Painting from Ontario College of Art and Design University, where she was awarded the 2012 Medal for Drawing and Painting. Since her graduation, she has participated in numerous group shows as well as solos exhibitions. Loree was selected for the Bill and Isabel Pope Residency in painting at NSCAD in Halifax, Nova Scotia in the fall of 2016, and her work has been featured in MOMUS.ca, the Toronto Star, Beautiful Decay and the Huffington Post (Angell Gallery).

The painting was a gift in honor of President Emeritus John Sellars, whose retirement this spring concluded 10 years in the office of Graceland University President.