Reflections of Autism: New exhibit showcases local artist’s strength and endurance
“After the Wreckage,” a painting by Northport resident and artist Erich Preis, who will showcase his work in a new exhibit, Reflections of Autism, at Trinity Community Art Center this month.
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Artist Erich Preis is not new to art. The 52-year-old Northport resident has showcased his work in numerous galleries across the metropolitan area for decades. This week, he opens his exhibit, Reflections of Autism, at the Trinity Community Art Center in Northport Village.
Preis had been studying art since he was nine years old, when he began taking classes at the Huntington School of Fine Arts. By the time he was 12, Preis began drawing the figure. He hasn’t stopped since.
Diagnosed with dyslexia when he was a child, Preis was told he wouldn’t graduate from high school. He did, however, as a member of Harborfields’ class of 1992, then went on to get his associate’s degree in fine arts from the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan.
After his time at FIT, and on a partial scholarship, Preis was immersed in an intensive figurative program at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, going on to study art therapy at C.W. Post. It was through the philosophy of art therapy that Preis himself was able to confront the emotions of his childhood adoption, and of his learning disabilities.
In 2011, Erich established the Spirit of Huntington Art Center in Huntington Station, a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting children of all ages and abilities through art therapy. On the autism spectrum himself, Preis’ passion for individuals with special needs continues to this day; he shares his experience in Refections of Autism, at the Trinity Community Art Center in Northport Village, throughout April.
The exhibit showcases Preis’ inner strength and overcoming of obstacles through his life as an autistic artist. An opening reception will take place tomorrow, Thursday, April 10, from 4:30 to 7pm. A closing reception is scheduled for April 27, from 11am to 1pm.
Read writer Joanne Kountourakis’ 2001 article on Preis and how he used art therapy to connect with at-risk students in Bronx public schools here. Information from that article has been used in this piece, by the same author.
