Based in Carrollton, Georgia, Erin Dixon is a mixed-media Artist whose work moves between realism and surrealism. The paintings in On Both Sides of the Door depict spaces familiar within her small West Georgia community. Rooted in observation, memory, and an evolving relationship to place, the works developed over time as the Artist’s understanding of her subjects shifted. Embedded details suggest fragments of narrative that, when viewed together, form a larger picture that remains deliberately unresolved.
Paintings of unruly cultivated gardens shaped by both intention and chance, a figure positioned behind a chain-link fence, and glimpses into a neighbor’s yard complicate ideas of access, visibility and protection. A wedding dress abandoned in the grass suggests a story suspended between private history and public exposure. Elsewhere, seemingly ordinary objects are arranged in deliberate pairings that create tension and unexpected associations while resisting easy interpretation.
Within the context of the present moment, these images operate metaphorically, reflecting states of uncertainty, resilience, and adaptation. “The gardens become fragile ecosystems sustained through care and attention, while fences, collections of objects, and accumulated belongings point simultaneously toward connection and separation,” explains Erin. “Familiar spaces transform into places where comfort and unease coexist, revealing how ordinary environments can quietly absorb the tensions of contemporary life.”
"Late January," oil on canvas, 16 by 26 inches
"My Favorite Things," oil on canvas, 30 by 25 inches
"Dragonfly," oil on canvas, 30 by 24 inches
"Statue," oil on canvas, 20 by 16 inches
"Mouse Trap," oil on canvas, 14 by 11 inches
"Pollinator Garden," oil on canvas, 48 by 36 inches
"Tromp L’oeil," oil on canvas, 14 by 11 inches
"Who Were the Stingy Eight?," oil on canvas, 14 by 18 inches
"Wedding Dress," oil on canvas, 36 by 24 inches
"Monstera," oil on canvas, 8 by 10 inches
"Neighbor," oil on canvas, 10 by 8 inches
Based in Carrollton, Georgia, Erin Dixon is a mixed media artist whose work bridges realism and surrealism. Her work is often heavily layered, preserved and obscured in acrylic, then re-interpreted as a unified composition in chalk pastels. Her practice involves documenting from direct observation her surroundings, collections of objects, people encountered, and sometimes fantastical imaginings. These drawings and paintings are the raw material of which much of this work is comprised. She also paints in oil, watercolor, and ink, and experiments in many other mediums.
Erin received her Master of Fine Arts in Drawing and Painting from Georgia State University and her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Savannah College of Art and Design. Recent exhibitions include the Masur Museum of Art, Monroe, LA in 2023, Artfields, Lake City, SC in 2022, LaGrange Museum of Art, LaGrange, GA in 2022 (winning a People’s Choice Award,) Drawing Discourse at UNC-Asheville in 2021 and 2019 (winning an Award of Distinction in 2019,) and her work has been published in a number of catalogs and held in private collections. She is a Senior Lecturer of Drawing and Painting at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, GA. She was born in Grand Bassa County, Liberia, and grew up in Middlebury, Connecticut and Penang, Malaysia. She has lived somewhere in Georgia most of her adult life and exhibits work throughout the Southeast.
AVAILABLE WORKS