Stepping into the exhibition Strata of Time at Elorea, the focus is not only on the works hanging on the walls but also the fragrances around them as well. With works placed throughout a perfume shop, Herok was given the opportunity to respond to the fragrances surrounding his works. He uses his process of layering to overlay different colors, materials, and experiences of both to mimic the processes the perfume makers used to create their products, as they mix and meld various scents. The works are nicely displayed throughout the space; some works, like Out of Field 5, Out of Field 4, and See You Again, are displayed alongside products, while other walls allow works to stand on their own. This is an interesting exhibition collaboration that grew from studying the products and interviewing store personnel, a process that generated a new body of work carrying as many small details within the surfaces as the fragrances carry within the perfumes.
By allowing us the opportunity to get close to the works, Herok invites viewers into a deep exploration of the canvas, not just as a surface for representational imagery, but as a topography where time, the motions used in creating them, and materiality intersect. Layers become an important aspect to the work, as layers throughout the piece show through or meld together with what sits on top. For Herok, the canvas is more than a plane for applying pigment, more than a surface with which he can apply motions to, with which he can work into; it is a site of accumulation where countless layers of Hanji, a traditional Korean paper, and paint are built up. This layering of material then becomes a site of excavation where layers are scraped and carved to reveal the strata beneath in certain spots- and they become exciting discoveries.
I appreciated the feeling of strata within the works. Strata are layers of earth and rock that were both accumulated and eroded over time, so some layers underneath permeate through. Erosion becomes an illustration of time, as Herok’s markmaking process itself illustrates how he takes the layers he slowly builds up on the canvases and peels away certain parts to let others breathe, similar to the surface of Out of Field 5. The various marks left upon the surface serve as both a record of presence and evidence of removal, showing that the crux of the painting resides within the tension between what is buried and what is unearthed simultaneously.
Placing various marks across the pieces, Herok leaves traces, traces of his hand or his train of thought as he works through the piece. This is similar to the traces left by the fragrances surrounding the paintings. The subtleties on the surface transform the painting beyond a static plane to become a record of sorts that captures movement and transformation in real-time. By allowing us to see below the surface, beneath multiple layers, this allows viewers to encounter the weight of time and labor the artist has traversed while creating these works. The surface is less a fixed still life and more a site where action and time have been simultaneously fossilized, each mark resonating with an archaeological influence toward unearthing accumulated time by means of painting.
This is Herok’s first solo show in New York, presented in collaboration with the fragrance brand Elorea. Elorea is a brand that focuses on identity, memory, and the emotional resonance of scent—how fragrance becomes deeply personal over time through its interaction with the body and different people. I thought this connection and vision aligned with Herok’s work and practice immensely well. Both painting and fragrances require time, excavation, and layers to generate the full experience of each. And while fragrance is technically an unseen element, it is still experienced as much as the visual world around it. It just captivates the senses in another way. This collaboration between both is interesting and developed through a shared interest in accumulation and transformation over time. While Herok’s paintings are built through layering, eroding, and revealing materials, Elorea approaches fragrance as something that evolves gradually—blending with the wearer and forming a unique, personal trace. Personal trace is a phrase that stayed with me throughout the exhibition as I walked through the store experiencing the details of both the works and the fragrances, enjoying which pieces were near which fragrance and seeing how both complement and meld into each other.
The placement of the smaller works offers the opportunity for multiple closer looks. Alternating between painting and fragrance, Herok gives us a variety of surfaces to explore. The smaller pieces offer a glimpse or a glimmer of colors peering from the foundation layer or even the white of the canvas, similar to how the fragrances are mostly transparent with perhaps a hint of a color to them, but we can see everything within it. The clear bottles reveal and illuminate their contents similarly to Herok’s scraping or uncovering of the surfaces, and how that illuminates his process. The smaller works stand as anchor points within the flow of the display, each acting as a catalyst to conversations between viewers who come close to them to explore the intricacies.
For this exhibition collaboration, Herok worked closely in response to Elorea’s new bottle design. Given the opportunity to study the bottle and its contents, Herok drew connections to the balance, curvature, and color relationships. These formal qualities show through in the composition of the paintings, especially in the piece See You Again, which directly reflects this collaboration with the fragrance bottle itself. The structure of the painting is informed both by the visual language of the bottle and by the temporal nature of fragrance inside—its layering and gradual transformation into something intimate and personal. There is a strong parallel between Herok’s painting process and the way scent builds, absorbs, and transforms on the body, just as much as his mark-making, layering of shapes that transform the canvas, and the passage of time are critical aspects to both.
The surface of the blue piece, Landscape, illustrates the passage of time and the transformation of a canvas. This work captivated me for quite a while once I approached it, as it gave me a sweeping, glacial feeling. The vertical movement of Herok’s excavations, allowing the deep blue to show from below, pulled me into the piece as if it were an expansive Arctic landscape. As I flowed through the space within the work, the gentle fade to the softened blue border felt as if it was ice melting away into the glowing ultramarine depths of the vast ocean that was holding this piece afloat. Here, like a lurking fragrance, Herok creates a wonderful suspension and allows viewers to float calmly and aimlessly alongside the textures on the surface. Using his processes of layering and removal, Herok allows the buildup of these surfaces to create their own sense of both expansion and place. One where the landscape is not outright illustrated, but is felt instead.
Herok’s work and process of creating the work are both a wonderful display of the passage of time and the recording of its results. The collaboration with Elorea is intriguing and allows the work to be experienced within a new type of gallery setting, one that is full of collaborations and new perspectives. The experience of the artwork within the store, is shaped by the space and the aroma’s surrounding it, as the visual component heightens the sensory experience and vice versa.The fragrances and paintings are in a constant dialogue, an ebb and flow. When given the opportunity to fully engage with the work Herok created specifically in response to this space, I appreciated the sensory experience and feeling of the passage of time, as if the work is carrying me through its evolutions.
Elorea, Strata of Time, Herok at Elorea, 41 Spring Street, New York, NY. Hours: 11 am -7 pm Daily, Exhibition is up until June 30th, 2026.
About the Writer: Taylor Bielecki lives in Gowanus, where her studio is, and works at Pratt Institute, where she earned her MFA. She also studied at Penn State, where she earned a BA in English and a BFA in Fine Arts. She finished as a finalist in the Kennedy Center’s VSA National Emerging Young Artist program for 2017, where she earned an award of Excellence. She has shown prints internationally in a print exchange in Australia and exhibitions in Dubai, India, and the Glasgow School of Art. She has also shown paintings internationally in Gallery 24N, PhilaMOCA’s juried exhibitions in Philadelphia, Pa., Perry Lawson Fine Art in Nyack, NY, BWAC in Red Hook, and IW Gallery in Brooklyn. Taylor works for Two Coats of Paint, TUSSLE Magazine, and has joined Art Spiel as a contributing writer. @Taylor.Bielecki
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