Brooklyn: Eric Hibit Studio Visit

Spontaneity. That's a word that cropped up quite a bit in conversation with artist Eric Hibit. How we came to meet was definitely spontaneous, the kind that online communication mediums can now create.

It was Thursday afternoon (I had only just arrived NY the night before) and I was sitting in a Starbucks tapping away on my computer. As it was the first time since landing that I had managed to get online, I changed the status in my gmail chat to read: Winnie is in NYC. A little over an hour later, I receive an email from Eric: "I see you are in New York - If you'd like to drop by the studio and say hi, I am conveniently located in DUMBO Brooklyn." I saw that Eric was online and immediately messaged him to accept and thank him for his kind invitation. I've never been to Brooklyn, so was quite excited by the prospect of venturing across the bridge.

So on Saturday evening, AL and I drove over to Brooklyn. DUMBO turned out to be a very cool area, a bit like the SoHo of decades past when it was still edgy. It was a shame that I arrived at a time when all the shops were shut. After a 6-storey hike up the stairs, we arrived at Eric's very neat studio (my picture of a messy artist's studio was once again proven to be more fictional than fact).

I had first come across Eric's quirky works on paper at the Scope NYC fair back in March. Since then, we had been in correspondence about including him in our upcoming Little Cream Book: Inspiration. I always find it fascinating and informative to meet artists. Talking to them and seeing the environment in which they work often provides a richer context to view their works.

Eric with a beautiful view of the Brooklyn Bridge from his studio window. He's a nocturnal artist, often working till 3am.

One of the first things I love checking out in people's homes, offices or studios. Eric's shelves were filled with books on psychology, Buddhism, Kabbalah and other artsists' monographs.

I thought this was his meditation space, but it's actually the one pictured below.

My favourite Eric quote of the evening (he picked it up from someone else's work): Total freedom is constraining. He was talking about the fact that inspiration, for him, requires both spontaneity and structure. But for some reason, it made me think of meditation. Perhaps because I've never achieved that thoughtlessness state. Eric says he usually meditates on the sound of his own breathing.

Eric's ideas box

One of Eric's work on paper with his signature dotted background. He said it took him a while to find his medium. But now that he's found it, the inspiration for his works is endless.