Erin Donnelly Art Opening Draws a Crowd

In keeping with its mission to provide access to a wide-range of art forms and mediums, the Messinger Gallery at the Boulder JCC opened a new exhibit of local artist Erin Donnelly on Wednesday, June 14.  

Erin Donnelly’s paintings are delicate re-imaginations of landscapes and the events of strangers. Though voyeuristic, they read as deeply personal reinterpretations in that they also seem to question the impact of the observer on the observed landscape. 

Art openings at the Boulder JCC always include a short conversation with the artist. Joy Alice Eisenhaur, the Arts, Culture and Education Director at the Boulder JCC, had the opportunity to talk to Erin about her work, her process, and the name of the show “Tapestry”.

“This show emerged in some way, actually, from that iterative photoshop process,” explained Erin Donnelly. “The painting Autonomy was the first painting in this series. It started as an organic abstract expressionist painting like any of the others. But when I was playing around with it on photoshop I started iterating it more intentionally as a digital collage- bringing in fragments of paintings from other artists.”

The opening reception had a wonderful crowd. Patrons enjoyed wine and cheese, Kombucha from  Rowdy Mermaid, Erin’s other business venture, and live music from Singer/Songwriter Dechen Hawk.

Donnelly studied drawing and painting while receiving a degree in social and cultural anthropology from UC Berkeley. Her degree work focused on mythological and religious traditions in contemporary cultures, and her painting practice continues this line of investigation. Erin has worked as an archaeologist, interior designer, landscape designer, headhunter, and head of sales for a successful beverage company startup before officially retiring from the corporate world in 2021 to focus on painting full time.

The new exhibition will hang in the Gallery through the end of August. Check out www.boulderjcc.org for more information and our hours.