10/08/2026
Our October exhibition includes the work of two very different artists with a similar medium. Here are 5 things to love about encaustic painting and the Time Capsule exhibition featuring Erin Hughes and Liz Rundorff Smith at Art & Light Gallery 👉
Rich Tactile Texture and Depth: Encaustic painting, a technique using heated beeswax mixed with color pigments and resin, creates luminous, translucent layers. In this show, the physical depth of the wax creates a tactile, physical presence that invites viewers to look closely.
The Medium as a Metaphor for Memory: Erin Hughes brilliantly uses the layered, obscured nature of molten wax to mirror how natural landscapes fade and blur in our memory over time, making the physical medium an essential part of the story.
Innovative Material Combinations: Both artists push the bounds of traditional encaustic by blending it with unexpected elements. Liz Rundorff Smith incorporates pastel powders, recycled paper remnants, and chainette fringe, while Hughes works across plaster, wallboard, and cradled panels.
Transforming Decay into Renewal: The exhibition approaches physical change and aging with optimism. Smith recycles discarded paper scraps into new hybrid vessel forms, demonstrating how remnants of the past can be rebuilt into fresh, meaningful structures.
A Shared Medium with Distinct Visual Voices: While both artists build on a foundation in encaustic art under notable mentors, they chart strikingly different visual languages. Hughes focusing on fleeting impressions of nature, and Rundorff Smith exploring form, vulnerability, and reconstruction.
This incredible exhibition will be on view now through the end of the month, so stop in to enjoy and collect today!
