Sophia Poppy Ericksen Solo Art Show: "On the Shore," Denver, CO
“On the Shore” (2/21 - 3/9) explores the shoreline as the boundary between life and death, a liminal space filled with ambiguity and longing. Through collaged imagery of sand, water, and fog, Sophia reflects on humanity’s universal yearning to understand the unknown while embracing the beauty and fear of the inevitable. This series invites viewers to confront mortality and consider how memory and transformation shape our relationship with the end.
Denver, CO, February 17, 2025 --(PR.com)-- Sophia Poppy Ericksen:
On the Shore
February 21, 2025 - March 9, 2025
Reception: Friday, February 21, 2025 - 6:00 - 10:00 pm, Artist in attendance
Gallery:
Pirate: Contemporary Art
7130 W 16th Ave., Lakewood, CO 80214
Hours:
Friday 6:00-10:00 pm
Saturday and Sunday Noon-5:00 pm
https://sophiaericksen.com/
IG: @sophia_poppy_ericksen
Sophia Poppy Ericksen presents her third solo show, On the Shore, running from February 21, 2025, to March 9, 2025, with an opening reception on Friday, February 21, from 6:00 to 10:00 pm at Pirate: Contemporary Art, where the artist will be in attendance.
On the Shore explores the shoreline as the boundary between life and death - a liminal space filled with ambiguity and longing. Through collaged imagery of sand, water, and fog, Sophia reflects on humanity’s universal yearning to understand the unknown, while embracing the beauty and fear of the inevitable. The series invites viewers to confront mortality and consider how memory and transformation shape our relationship with the end.
The hand-cut layers of ink and photography are created with countless hours of delicate, patient and precise slow work, in a process both meditative and reflective. Photographs are the closest thing we have to a memorialized memory, and Sophia uses them to capture moments and hold them in place as they begin to fade. These slow, intentional works highlight the fragility of memory and the deep effort it takes to hold onto what matters most.
Love, fear, and death revolve around each other, forming an unbreakable bond that defines the human experience. We fear death because we love—life, people, and the connections that make existence meaningful. Fear of death is, at its core, fear of loss: the loss of love, memory, and the presence of those who matter most. Ernest Hemingway wrote, “Every man has two deaths: when he is buried in the ground, and the last time someone says his name.” This haunting truth underscores how the decomposition of memory parallels the decomposition of grief. Over time, memories fade and distort, leaving behind a shadow of what once was. In a way, people decompose twice—once physically, and again through the erosion of the memories they leave behind.
Like waves reshaping the shore, memory shifts and fades over time, leaving behind traces of what once was. Yet even as memory dissolves, it renews itself—new stories emerge, new meanings take form, and the cycle continues. This series is Sophia’s attempt at closure, a way to navigate the many forms of loss we experience and to find solace in the spaces they leave behind.
Sophia Poppy Ericksen (She/Her) was born in Estes Park, Colorado, in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, and is currently based in Denver. Her work has been shown in Denver, Seattle, and is available at RULE Gallery in Marfa, TX.
Ericksen’s work serves as diaristic expression, reckoning with her past, present, and future selves. She explores themes of identity, queerness, transition, memory, and grief, and the idea that nostalgia is a longing for an idealized past or future. In her work, she is often processing a fragment of memory, integrating emotions, and exorcising personal ghosts in the constant process of developing identity.
Sophia’s collages are constructed through a meticulous process of cut-out ink paintings, drawings, photography, and found ephemera, reflecting hours of intimate, up-close work, and emphasizing the importance of presence and the act of creation as a means of preserving memory. Ericksen uses experimental film photography, alternative darkroom processes, and digital manipulation of videos and scans to explore the blurred lines between memory, actuality and ghosts of the self.
On the Shore
February 21, 2025 - March 9, 2025
Reception: Friday, February 21, 2025 - 6:00 - 10:00 pm, Artist in attendance
Gallery:
Pirate: Contemporary Art
7130 W 16th Ave., Lakewood, CO 80214
Hours:
Friday 6:00-10:00 pm
Saturday and Sunday Noon-5:00 pm
https://sophiaericksen.com/
IG: @sophia_poppy_ericksen
Sophia Poppy Ericksen presents her third solo show, On the Shore, running from February 21, 2025, to March 9, 2025, with an opening reception on Friday, February 21, from 6:00 to 10:00 pm at Pirate: Contemporary Art, where the artist will be in attendance.
On the Shore explores the shoreline as the boundary between life and death - a liminal space filled with ambiguity and longing. Through collaged imagery of sand, water, and fog, Sophia reflects on humanity’s universal yearning to understand the unknown, while embracing the beauty and fear of the inevitable. The series invites viewers to confront mortality and consider how memory and transformation shape our relationship with the end.
The hand-cut layers of ink and photography are created with countless hours of delicate, patient and precise slow work, in a process both meditative and reflective. Photographs are the closest thing we have to a memorialized memory, and Sophia uses them to capture moments and hold them in place as they begin to fade. These slow, intentional works highlight the fragility of memory and the deep effort it takes to hold onto what matters most.
Love, fear, and death revolve around each other, forming an unbreakable bond that defines the human experience. We fear death because we love—life, people, and the connections that make existence meaningful. Fear of death is, at its core, fear of loss: the loss of love, memory, and the presence of those who matter most. Ernest Hemingway wrote, “Every man has two deaths: when he is buried in the ground, and the last time someone says his name.” This haunting truth underscores how the decomposition of memory parallels the decomposition of grief. Over time, memories fade and distort, leaving behind a shadow of what once was. In a way, people decompose twice—once physically, and again through the erosion of the memories they leave behind.
Like waves reshaping the shore, memory shifts and fades over time, leaving behind traces of what once was. Yet even as memory dissolves, it renews itself—new stories emerge, new meanings take form, and the cycle continues. This series is Sophia’s attempt at closure, a way to navigate the many forms of loss we experience and to find solace in the spaces they leave behind.
Sophia Poppy Ericksen (She/Her) was born in Estes Park, Colorado, in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, and is currently based in Denver. Her work has been shown in Denver, Seattle, and is available at RULE Gallery in Marfa, TX.
Ericksen’s work serves as diaristic expression, reckoning with her past, present, and future selves. She explores themes of identity, queerness, transition, memory, and grief, and the idea that nostalgia is a longing for an idealized past or future. In her work, she is often processing a fragment of memory, integrating emotions, and exorcising personal ghosts in the constant process of developing identity.
Sophia’s collages are constructed through a meticulous process of cut-out ink paintings, drawings, photography, and found ephemera, reflecting hours of intimate, up-close work, and emphasizing the importance of presence and the act of creation as a means of preserving memory. Ericksen uses experimental film photography, alternative darkroom processes, and digital manipulation of videos and scans to explore the blurred lines between memory, actuality and ghosts of the self.
Contact
HayWyre Enterprises
Sophia Poppy Ericksen
303-880-1288
https://sophiaericksen.com/
Sophia Poppy Ericksen
303-880-1288
https://sophiaericksen.com/
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