Growing up, Madison artist Erin Liljigren witnessed how her hometown near Chicago underwent urban development. Once barren country roads became bustling business thoroughfares, and Liljigren found that “devestating.” She thus became passionate about the preservation of the environment, and the consumables that we as a society derive from it.
Liljigren is now a painter that creates on repurposed wood panels. Mainly using acrylics, Liligren paints cerebral, even haunting, cityscapes and landscapes that resemble piles of trash to bring awareness to how wasteful our society can be. In some paintings, birds fly above the trashy landscapes, while others look like bulky trees.
“I love habitats,” she said during my visit to her home studio earlier this week. “I love environments. I love the habitats that people create. I think that’s really interesting. As far as the garbage, the trash, and the refuse … that is … I look at it as an anthropological study. What have we made? What are our inventions? What do we discard? And then all of the effects of that on the environment.”
Even more artworks are representations of what it might look like if you were to peer into the Earth’s crust; you’d see the layers upon layers of sediment, soil and other organic, and inorganic, materials.
She also sells vintage clothing, furniture and other finds as part of her business, Shooting Stars Vintage, which as a booth located inside Atomic Antiques at 4546 Verona Road in Madison. If you’re unsure of where to look, Liljigren said her booth is the one with really bright colors. It’s tough to miss.
“I have some idea of what I want to create,” Liljigren said when I asked her about the process behind her gorgeous works. “This one for instance … it resembles a city and buildings. For this one, I was looking for almost a serigraphy look. A silk screen.
“A lot of this is cut tape. I would paint on top of it and pull off the tape. I do a lot of color balancing as I’m working through it. I don’t go into it with too much planning.”
Some of Liljigren’s artworks are displayed at Carnelian Art Gallery as part of its “Dreams In the Undergrowth,” exhibition, which showcases abstract pieces with commentaries on mental health, the subconscious and the environment. Liljigren is among six artists participating in the show, whose opening reception is Friday, May 16, at 5 p.m. at the gallery. That’s the same night as Gallery Night across the city of Madison, an event organized by the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art each year.
“I hope its a really successful show,” Liljigren said during my visit to her home studio earlier this week. “I hope a lot of people are coming to the opening reception.”
Liljigren began her artistic career when she was a child. She reminisced about drawing “ladies in their fancy outfits” to pay help her pay attention during the Catholic church services her family would attend. She went on to study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, graduating with an art degree in 2007. The artist made her official move to Madison in 2011, and has participated in several local and regional art shows since.
She’s inspired by the works of Dr. Seuss, as well as late Austrian Painter Egon Shiele. Liljigren said that at some point, she’d like to illustrate children’s books.
Her other inspriation? “To do better for the world.”
