Erica Derum Lohan has been drawing leaves since she was a child and it is no wonder that one of her first memories is of the smell of wet dirt. As a kid in New York City she pressed leaves in a book, trying to decipher the intricate nature of veining, the subtle faded colors, recognizing the fragility of the natural world.
It was during her years as a young artist in 70s that she solidified her formal training in fine arts with a BFA from Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture in Manhattan. While Lohan embraced art, it was the art world of the era that felt alien to her.
So she veered off to study botanical illustration, immersing herself in gardens and drawing, painting and digging. She then studied botanical illustration at Planting Fields Arboretum before receiving a certificate degree from New York Botanical Gardens. During those years she continued to show her work at numerous galleries in New York.
Then in 2000, Lohan took off to explore the country and spent nine months traveling in an RV before resettling in foothills of Taos. It was there that her painting and the plant world coalesced into a commitment to record the natural world and its delicate beauty in an effort to awaken the viewer to the planet’s need for protection.
In a desert landscape of extremes, Lohan has found the middle ground between earth and art in her work. Her latest series of paintings use acrylic and graphite on prepared panel and explore her passion for pattern and texture that first sparked her attention when she was young. “Taking my cue from nature, I render the natural world through a contemporary lens,” she said.
That lens also provides a close-up of the subtlest details of life, the intricacy and beauty that we miss as we pass quickly through the world around us. Lohan’s paintings give viewers a reason to pause.
In the summer of 2009 Lohan moved to the lush green hills of the Piedmont Valley in central Virginia. Now the backdrop of those evolving leaf renderings are the misty views of the Blue Ridge Mountains that ring the fields and beckon the eye upward.
EDUCATION
Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture, New York, NY: BFA in drawing and painting
New York Botanical Gardens, Bronx, NY: landscape design and botany, certificate degree in horticultural therapy
New York University at Farmingdale, Farmingdale, NY: landscape design and ornamental horticulture
Planting Fields Arboretum, Oyster Bay, NY: botanical illustration
Long Island Art League, Huntington, NY: life drawing and watercolor painting
EXHIBITIONS
Barn Swallow Exhibit, Charlottesville, VA 2022
One-Woman Show McGuffey Art Center, Sarah B. Smith Main Gallery, Charlottesville, VA 2021
McGuffey Art Center Holiday Show, Charlottesville, VA 2020
Edith J. Carrier Arboretum, Harrisonburg, VA 2019
Annie Gould Gallery, Gordonsville, VA 2019
McGuffey Art Center Group Show, Charlottesville, VA 2019
Staunton Augusta Art Center Solo Show, Staunton, VA 2018
McGuffey Art Center Spring Show, Charlottesville, VA 2018
Barn Swallow Fall Studio Tour, Charlottesville, VA 2017
McGuffey Holiday Show, Charlottesville, VA 2017
McGuffey Summer Show, Charlottesville, VA 2017
McGuffey North Gallery Show, Charlottesville, VA 2017
Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, Richmond, VA 2017
McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville, VA 2017
Riverviews Art Center Juried Exhibition, Lynchburg, VA 2016
McGuffey Art Center, Charlottesville, VA 2016
Montpelier South Atlantic Juried Show, Montpelier, VA 2016
Barn Swallow Gallery, Charlottesville, VA 2016
McGuffey Art Center Members Show, Charlottesville, VA 2016
Group Show Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA 2015
Juried Show, Nelson Gallery, Lexington, VA 2015
Group Show Warm Springs Gallery, Charlottesville, VA 2015
Group Show Larkin Arts, Harrisonburg, VA 2015
Annual Juried Show Larkin Arts , Harrisonburg, VA 2015
Group Show Page Bond Gallery, Richmond, VA 2014
Barn Swallow Gallery, Charlottesville, VA 2014
Warm Springs Gallery, Warm Springs, VA 2013
Spring Group Show, Rift Gallery Contemporary Art, Rinconada, NM 2010
Fall Group Show, A Muse Gallery-Ohio, Columbus, OH 2009
Dixon Studio Tour, Rift Gallery Contemporary Art, Rinconada, NM 2009
Spring Group Show, A Muse Gallery-Taos, Taos, NM 2009
Fall Arts Invitational, Taos, NM 2008
Coleman Gallery Contemporary Art, Albuquerque, NM 2008
One-Woman Show, Trading Post Cafe and Gallery, Ranchos de Taos, NM 2008
Fall Arts Invitational, Taos, NM 2007
Artists Group Show Rift Gallery Contemporary Art, Rinconada, NM 2007
Summer Perennials Show, Garden & Soul, Taos, NM 2007
Broken and Repaired: A Juried Show at Rift Gallery Contemporary Art, Rinconada, NM 2007
Millicent Rogers Museum Juried Miniatures Show, Taos, NM 2006
Fall Arts Invitational, Taos, NM 2006: Finalist, Best in Show Representational
Coleman Gallery Contemporary Art, Albuquerque, NM 2006
Garden and Soul, Taos, NM 2005-2007
Spring Arts Celebration, Visitor’s Center, Taos, NM 2005
Primavera Show, Stables Art Gallery, Taos, NM 2003
Solar Art Show, New Grounds Gallery, Taos, NM 2003
Painting Ledoux Street, Taos, NM 2001: Awarded Best Mixed Media from the Harwood Museum
Planting Fields Arboretum, Oyster Bay, NY 1997
HTAL Village Green Fine Art Show, Huntington, NY 1991
Gallery North Outdoor Show, Setauket, NY 1990: Awarded Second Prize Watercolor
Mill House Members Show, Smithtown, NY 1987
John Christopher Gallery, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 1986