Biography & CV
Erica Steiner is an Oakland, California based painter, ceramicist, sculptor and multimedia artist. Born and raised in rural Northern California, Steiner received her BA from Mills College where she studied art with Hung Liu and Ron Nagle, and her MFA in Writing and Consciousness at New College of California in San Francisco under the tutelage of beat poet Neeli Cherkovski.
Erica Steiner's work is largely inspired by ornamentation, textile design, and folk and religious art from many different times and places. Her work suggests a deep, imaginative inner world and in so doing, provides space for viewers to embrace the limitlessness of their own psychic interiors. Having focused primarily on painting in oil and gold leaf for much of her career, in recent years, Steiner’s practice has expanded to include a deep engagement with painted and beaded ceramics, extending the language of her painting into another dimension.
Steiner has exhibited her work in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland and New York over the past two decades in solo and group exhibitions. Her work has been written about in Juxtapoz, Lost at E-Minor and Citizen LA Magazine among others, and is featured in public and private collections across the country. She currently works out of her home studio in the Oakland hills. Her studio is open by appointment.
Education
2000 Master of Fine Arts, Writing and Consciousness, New College of California, San Francisco, CA
1995 Bachelor of Arts, Mills College, Oakland, CA
Select Solo and Two-Person Exhibitions
2018 Two-Person Exhibition, Erica Steiner and Aaron Francisco Castro, Sotheby's, Bainbridge Island, WA
2015 Selected Works by Erica Steiner, Nobu, San Francisco, CA
2013-14 "Interior Refuge: Paintings and Pillows by Erica Steiner," Vintage by Design, Occidental, CA
2013 "Erica Steiner: Heaven is Not the Wide Blue Sky," Paolo Mejia Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2011 "Heaven is Not the Wide Blue Sky," Edgar Varela Fine Arts, Los Angeles, CA
2010 "Erica Steiner: Ornamental Worlds," 2223 Market, San Francisco, CA
2009 "The Fabric of Desire," City Hall Civic Gallery, San Mateo, CA (San Mateo City Arts Solo Exhibition Award)
2008 "Reverie: Meditations on an Ornamental World," Edgar Varela Fine Arts, Los Angeles, CA
2007 "Erica Steiner: Ornamental Worlds," Felix Kulpa Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA
2007 "Reverie: Meditations on an Ornamental World," Jackson Theater, Santa Rosa, CA
2006 "Erica Steiner: Nature, Fabric and Collective Memory," Galeria Tonantzin Center for Arts and Humanities, San Juan Bautista, CA
2005 "Shelters and Illuminations: New Work by Erica Steiner and Sarah Becker," Galeria Tonantzin Center for Arts and Humanities, San Juan Bautista, CA
Select Group Exhibitions
2014 First Anniversary Exhibition (Featuring Represented Artists), Paolo Mejia Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2013 Muse Shoppe @ Syrup Loft Art Space, Los Angeles, CA
2013 Syrup Valentine's Love and Funk Speak Easy, Syrup Loft Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, Curator: Dale Youngman
2013 "Facets," Paolo Mejia Gallery, San Francisco, CA, Curator: Paolo Mejia
2012 Ecology Project International Benefit Auction, Gallery 16, San Francisco, CA
2012 "12th Annual Auction and Exhibition," Root Division Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2012 "Masquerade," Someday Lounge, Portland, OR, Curators: Martha Wallulis and Eric Robison
2010 "Reawakening," Lana Santorelli Gallery, New York, NY
2010 "Speaking of Solitude," Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Novato, CA, Curator: Maria Medua
2010 "California," Cabrillo College Art Gallery, Aptos, CA, Curators: Ruth Braunstein and Shannon Trimble
2010 "9th Annual Art Auction and Preview Exhibition," Root Division Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2010 "Ecology Project International 10th Annual Auction," Gallery 16, San Francisco, CA
2010 "A Trip Worthwhile: Patrick "Star 27" Deignan, Gene Guynn, Christopher Polentz, Jason Snyder and Erica Steiner," The Gallery at The Alternative Cafe, Monterey Bay, CA
2009 "Spectrum: Serge Armando, Lino Martinez, Kristina E. King, and Erica Steiner," Phantom Galleries LA/ Long Beach Promenade, Long Beach, CA
2009 "Spectrum: Serge Armando, Matteo, Lino Martinez, and Erica Steiner," Phantom Galleries LA/ Continental Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2009 "High Strangeness," Curator: Donald James Krieger, Center for the Arts at Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, CA
2009 "CA-Boom Design Show," Beverly Hills, CA, Curator: Edgar Varela Fine Arts
2009 "Flesh and Bone," Madrone Lounge, San Francisco, CA, Curator: Leila Fakouri
2009 "Holiday," 63 Bluxome Street Gallery, San Francisco, CA, Curator: Clam Lynch
2009 Monthly Group Exhibitions, Reaves Gallery, San Francisco, CA, Curator: Sharon Reaves
2009 "8th Annual Art Auction and Preview Exhibition," Root Division Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2009 "Ecology Project International Benefit Auction," Gallery 16, San Francisco, CA
2008 "Winter Wanderland," Truxtop Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2008 "Just Imagine," Mezzanine Gallery at Hotel Triton, San Francisco, CA
2008 "Cascade Aids Project Juried Auction and Exhibition," Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR
2008 "Red," City Hall Civic Gallery, San Mateo, CA, Curator: Sinem Banna, San Mateo City Arts
2007 "Miniatures," Monterey Museum of Art, Monterey, CA
2007 "That Show Revisited," Gallery Revisited, Los Angeles, CA, Curator: Leora Lutz
2007 "Multiple Choice" Juried Exhibition, Sebastopol Center for the Arts, Sebastopol, CA
2007 "Annual Juried Exhibition," Axis Gallery, Sacramento, CA, Curator: Renny Pritikin
2007 "Spring Exhibition," Edgar Varela Fine Arts, Los Angeles, CA
2007 "We Are Felix," Felix Kulpa Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA
2007 "Dream A Little Dream," The Hive Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2007 "October Exhibition," Truxtop Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2007 "The Favorites Show," Outer Edge Studio, Monterey, CA
2006 "Splat Art Tour Invitational," Aptos, CA
2006 "The Favorites Show," Outer Edge Studio, Monterey, CA
2005 "Wanderings," Pajaro Valley Arts Council Gallery, Watsonville, CA
2005 Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA
2005 "Sulha Peace Project," Inner Light Ministries, Soquel, CA
2004 "The Favorites Show," Gallery Luscombe, San Francisco, CA
2004 "Get Flat: An Orgy of Art, Music and Dance," Private Residence, San Francisco, CA
2003 "Get Flat: An Orgy of Art, Music and Dance," Private Residence, San Francisco, CA
2002 "Juried Annual," Pro Arts Gallery, Oakland, CA
select Bibliography
2011 Juxtapoz.com, "Erica Steiner's Ornament"
2011 Lost at E Minor, "The Colourful Art of Erica Steiner"
2011 Art-Sponge.com feature, "The Psychedelic Art Works of Erica Steiner"
2011 LACanvas.com feature, curated by Shana Nys Dambrot
2010 Eclectix.com, Flora and Fauna, Curator: Patricia Zemanek (online exhibition)
2010 New York Twist Magazine Feature
2009 A Distinctive Style Magazine Feature
2008 Citizen LA Magazine, "Erica Steiner: Can Art Still Be Beautiful?," by Kristi Collacott
2008 Redefine Magazine, "Erica Steiner," by Vivian Hua
With additional thanks to the following for their support:
Roxy Snowboards
Colori Kitchen, Los Angeles, CA
Fume Bistro/Sheri DeBow, Napa, CA
Venus Restaurant, Berkeley, CA
2223 Market, San Francisco, CA / McKinley Art Solutions
Sarah Becker Skincare, San Francisco, CA
Julie's Tea Garden, Alameda, CA
The Well Within Spa, Santa Cruz, CA
Cayuga Vault, Santa Cruz, CA