Working Spaces

Erica Driver

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW EXHIBIT: Erica Driver WORKING SPACES
Exhibition Dates: January 11, 2025-March 9, 2025
Opening Reception: Saturday January 11, 2025, 5:00-7:00pm
Location: Sarah Langley Gallery, Hammetts Hotel 4 Commercial Wharf, Newport RI 02840
Contact: Jessica Hagen at jessica@jessicahagen.com or 401-835-7682

Erica Driver: WORKING SPACES

Jessica Hagen Fine Art + Design is pleased to announce another exciting collaboration with Hammetts Hotel in Newport, RI. Erica Driver WORKING SPACES will open at the hotel’s Sarah Langley Gallery on Saturday January 11, 2025, from 5:00- 7:00pm. WORKING SPACES is an exploration and celebration of the places Rhode Islanders go to work. The paintings were created primarily onsite and en plein air. Artist Erica Driver, a graduate of Harvard University, thrives on the challenge of adapting to changes in the environment as people go about their workday. Driver is based in rural Little Compton, Rhode Island and is a lifelong creator with a love for drawing. She creates paintings using acrylic paint markers and ink wash on wood panels and is particularly drawn to visually complex environments—though she has come to realize that all workspaces are complex if you examine them closely enough. She’s also discovered that while it’s the people who make the places, the places we work have a life of their own.

“Erica is brand new to my gallery’s roster,” states Jessica Hagen, “and I am very pleased to be exhibiting her work at Hammetts Hotel. Erica’s creativity, competence and unique style combine to make an impressive and vibrant show. It’s the perfect way to start the new year!”

Erica Driver WORKING SPACES closes on March 9, 2025.

ARTIST BIO

Erica Driver is an artist based in rural Little Compton, Rhode Island. She is a lifelong creator with a love for drawing. She creates paintings using acrylic paint markers and ink wash on wood panels. Erica received her undergraduate degree in liberal arts from Harvard University. She credits her art foundation to passionate teachers and mentors through the years, as well as learning by osmosis during thousands of hours modeling at art schools while she was in college. Erica is inspired by the street artists of Providence, Rhode Island and Valencia, Spain, and the work of Niki de Saint Phalle and Antoni Gaudí.

ARTIST STATEMENT: WORKING SPACES

Working Spaces is an exploration and celebration of the places Rhode Islanders go to work. The paintings were created primarily onsite and en plein air. Erica thrives on the challenge of adapting to changes in the environment as people go about their workday. The light shifts. A plant in the greenhouse unfurls. Emergency vehicles depart and return, parking in a slightly different spot. Kegs in the brewery are moved, replaced by sacks of malt.

Erica is particularly drawn to visually complex environments—though she has come to realize that all workspaces are complex, if you examine them closely enough. She’s also discovered that while it’s the people who make the places, the places we work have a life of their own.