My name is Erik Robert Hagen (1967).  I majored in art history at Carleton College in Minnesota, United States (class of '90).  I have always been captivated by the visual, even as a little kid. For 15 years I studied and worked as an engineer, while making art on the side.  In 2008, I started working as an artist, doing engineering on the side.  I have exhibited in shows at Carleton College, in galleries in Seattle, The Hague, Voorschoten, and in Antwerp.  I currently live in The Hague.  

Over the last two years I've focused on the portrait. It's not just that I love working with people:  I find it fascinating to explore identity and character through portraiture.  I work most often from live models using charcoal on paper, but lately I've been exploring the notion of beauty through my photography work .

My abstract paintings are an exploration of material, and are informed by my study of ceramics.   Every action leaves a mark on the canvas, as with clay.  I enjoy making these physical painting, especially the big ones.  I usually work on them while they lie flat on the ground.   I built up the canvas with layers of paint using brushes and pallete knives, and take away paint using different sized scrapers, pallete knives, rags, and anything that comes to hand.  When you look closely at these abstract paintings, you can see the layers upon layers of paint and can begin seeing which layers were placed first.  Geologists, skilled at deciphering the sequence of geologic events in a cross sectional map of folded strata and fault lines, seem to enjoy these paintings.