Erin N. Power
Refractions by Erin N. Power, Image 1.
The way stairs divide a space—casting their own shadows, shaping new forms, and redirecting movement—has always captivated me. In Refractions, I focused on how light slips through this modern building and rebounds across its many surfaces. The painting grew out of a long process of drawings, studies, and earlier painted attempts to understand this particular staircase. Although the final image is abstracted and visually disorienting, it remains rooted in careful observation. Each angled plane and shifting geometry reflects my effort to map how light fractures, bounces, and recombines as it moves through the room, turning a familiar space into something newly dynamic.