Artist Biography:
Erin Palazzolo Loparo (b. Tarrytown, NY 1979) is an abstract expressionist, mixed-media and mandala artist based out of Andem Art Studios in Brookline, MA. A registered art therapist (MS-ATR), Erin currently leads art therapy groups at the New Art Center in Newton, carries out a teaching artist grant for Brookline Early Education Program and creates private/institutional art commissions. A member of the American Art Therapy Association, Cambridge Art Association and UVA, Erin has shown her artwork in exhibitions in NY and the Boston area with work on permanent exhibit at Harvard Medical School.
Background: Erin trained for ten years with studio instruction under printmaker Myril Adler during her early life. She graduated valedictorian of Briarcliff High School, NY (1997), studied abroad at Syracuse University School of Art and Design in Florence, Italy (1999) and graduated Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude from Williams College, MA (BA: Studio Art Honors Thesis/English, 2001). She worked at Charity Navigator as a non-profit program analyst before earning her M.S. in Art Therapy from the College of New Rochelle, NY (2005). Erin trained and worked in psychiatric hospital and skilled nursing home settings, earning her ATR (Registered Art Therapist) credential from the Art Therapy Credentials Board (2008). She previously worked as Chair of the Art Department for Mount Alvernia High School in Newton, MA (2007-2010).
Artist Statement:
In creating original artworks for exhibition or commission, I enjoy a physical and visceral art process. I often employ mixed-media including acrylic, gouache, ink, graphite, pastel, monoprint collage, etching, on heavyweight Arches cold-press watercolor paper, gessobord or claybord (at various scales). Movement, rhythm, light and texture are crucial elements of my aesthetic. With roots in abstract expressionism and mandala practice, my spontaneous mark-making is mindful and dialectical – it aims to move viewers into a reflective interior space that is both conversational and cathartic. Commission-based collaborations add dimensions of research, compositional planning and synthesis which invigorate my process.
For more information, please visit the artist’s website: