Eric Empey is a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts, graduating with honors from the University of Utah in 1994. He received a 4 year scholarship in 1991 to pursue his BFA. He is active in Salt Lake art scene and continues to paint regularly for galleries, Utah Symphony Opera and film productions.
Artists statement
The order of man follows innately the order of nature. My art and spirituality have been fostered by a meaningful relationship to nature. Subtle energies and rhythms of earth, when recognized & listened to, teach one of a self beyond cultural constructs and ideologies, a self that is evolving and integrated. Recently, I have observed societies separation from nature and the destructive impact. In the past, a large part of my body of work has explored the pictorial reality landscape painting. Now I am interested in exploring not just pictorial reality, but the positives of a connection to nature vs. the negatives of separation from it.
I am in the process of creating a body of work that combines and juxtaposes negative elements of society with positive elements of nature in an effort to explore the importance of a symbiosis between the two. There is a wealth of knowledge, wisdom and inspiration undiscovered due to humans current displacement from their source. By contrasting symbols of culture, nature and humanity, these works will illustrate the concept of a world rapidly drifting away from its origins while deperately requiring integration and wholeness.