My work explores the weight of the unspoken, translating personal experience into a tactile language of accumulation and erasure. I approach the canvas through a rigorous, additive process—layering paint, collage, and raw texture until the surface achieves a sense of certainty. However, this stability is temporary. I intentionally disrupt these compositions through aggressive subtraction: cutting, scraping, and scouring the image I created

This cycle is not a mere illustration of memory, but a physical act of discovery. I view my process as an excavation—a way of pulling meaning out from the void. By prioritizing an uncontrolled approach, I allow the work to survive its own destruction. What remains is often the result of my original intentions being lost and rediscovered; figures, faces, or even flowers can emerge from the damage, bearing the visible marks of hesitation, regret, and persistence.

Ultimately, my works is a way of externalizing private, secret histories. By stripping back the surface to reveal the struggle beneath, I aim to create a shared space of quiet recognition between the canvas and the viewer.

©EricRottcher2026