Walter Erra Hubert USA
Walter Erra Hubert is an artist whose passion for art developed at a young age and was nurtured through his education and exposure to the art world. He primarily focuses on painting and has created various public art pieces using natural materials.
His artistic journey began in the United States, studying at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, where he obtained his Master of Fine Arts degree. The institute underwent a transformation during his time there, blending traditional art forms with the emerging conceptual art of the late 1960s and early 1970s, influencing his art towards lyrical abstract expressionism.
After completing his studies, Walter participated in the Fulbright Exchange Program in Europe, teaching painting and design while furthering his artistic knowledge at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Upon returning to the US, he established his design studio, Silver Birches, which became renowned for its innovative approach to design and production.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Walter worked as an art director for various fashion and home design advertisements, collaborating with notable figures like Bruce Weber. His collaborations eventually led to the publication of the book Naked, Flowers Exposed, which showcased floral fantasies captured by a hundred photographers.
Walter's work has been featured in numerous publications and is in prestigious collections worldwide. He continues to paint at his studios in Italy and California and holds solo exhibitions in various locations internationally.
Born to immigrant parents, Walter is heavily influenced by his U.S. and Italian roots and straddles both worlds. His Pasadena studio provides space for exploration where he is inspired by the expanse of the metropolis, while his home and studio in the Italian countryside allow for a sense of separation, allowing him to be associated with nature and introspection. Walter chose to self-isolate in 2018, two years before the international lockdown, resulting in two striking bodies of work, Era of Solitude and Promising Skies, both of which reflect a world moving towards a new reality. Walter’s expression is deeply influenced by the subconscious, a comparison that can be drawn to current events of the pandemic and the post-pandemic era. Some of the large-scale artworks he produced were recently exhibited in his solo show at Building Bridges Art Exchange’s Santa Monica Gallery. His magnificent, multi-dimensional canvases invite the viewer to embark on a journey of discovery through Walter’s impressive brushwork, dripping paint, and penetrating energy.
The magic of nature and journeys of the spirit are at the core of Walter’s work. Promising Skies, his latest series encapsulates Walter’s vision with imaginary and mystical elements. By merging a multitude of tools, including everyday items such as spatulas, wood carving tools and hair dryers, he uses the fluidity of the materials to capture an infinite range of strokes and movements. Walter muses, “I am in constant exploration of the tension we perceive between the realms of matter and spirit. I hope that the viewer senses this language and is drawn into the relevance of the journey.”
At age fifteen, he enrolled in an art class that changed his life as he was introduced to complicated design and compositional analysis of the Bauhaus movement. On gaining acceptance to Otis Art Institute, he embraced education in contrasts, learning classical approaches alongside the relatively untapped world of the emerging conceptual art of the late sixties and early seventies. As the founder and CEO of Silver Birches in Pasadena, Walter has worked alongside visionaries like Bruce Weber and Ralph Lauren as well as taught painting and design at the High Wycombe College of Technology and Art in England and at Pasadena City College.
Walter was recently selected as an American artist to show at the 2022 9th Beijing International Art Biennale in China. He has had several solo shows in Europe and his paintings can be found in the permanent collections of the M.A.C.I.S.T contemporary art museum in Italy, and venerable institutions including the L.A. Times Mirror Building. Walter was also recently chosen as a featured artist for a special Miami ART BASEL publication, Arte Al Limite Magazine from Santiago, Chile.