Justus Cotterill was born in Okinawa, Japan and raised in Erie, PA. He has a BFA in photography from The Cleveland Institute of Art and an MFA in printmaking from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. He has shown in various galleries and museums both regionally and nationally.

Cotterill’s paintings walk a line between abstraction and narration. There are hints of things viewers might think they have seen before or color combinations that feel familiar but can’t place. Maybe people pick up on these subtleties in the work, maybe they don’t – the artist doesn’t think it’s critical either way. He tries to speak in a broader language but likes having these little bits that maybe only those who “know” will recognize.

Like many, Cotterill has been heavily influenced by the records he’s listened to growing up, which identified who you were in social circles and it could influence experiences, a way of dressing, even how Saturday nights were spent. He was a kid growing up in middle class neighborhoods, watching John Hughes movies and wishing there was better music on MTV.

Living in Erie, the television and the record player were how he saw and felt the rest of the world. California and New York were other planets – his “influencers” were the posters in his room.

Contact the gallery for available works.