Erika Sanada: Sharing

Modern Eden Gallery presents new works from San Francisco-based artist Erika Sanada. We started working with Erika in 2013 for her debut solo exhibition 'Odd Things'. After 6 major ME solo exhibitions, numerous group shows, publications, and fairs, the young artist continues to push the quality and application of her craft and with skillful determination, firmly establishes herself as one of the top contemporary ceramic artists working today.

Her work is about fragility, the tension created during a moment of heightened interaction, where two or more beings polarize, where teeth meet claws meet heart, and yet this moment is perfectly frozen, encapsulated in such a delicate, and ethereal ceramic form.

From the artist: My work is about my fears and concerns. Growing up, I was always bullied by other kids, causing me to develop constant, uncontrollable anxiety. My parents got me a dog to help me cope; his name was Chapes, and we became very close. He made me happy and I loved him, but he had his dark side too. He would occasionally bite me, causing me to feel betrayed and sad. This experience led me to use a dog to represent myself in my work, having both a light and dark side. The dogs in my artwork all have unusual details – three eyes, two tails, extra legs and arms – that represent the anxieties that are still a part of me. The rats and birds present with the dogs are further extensions of myself and my fears. Birds, like my anxieties, are difficult to contain and control, and are always a part of me and my work.