Erik Richard Parra was born and raised in suburban Texas. He attended The University of Texas at Austin where he studied painting and received a Bachelor of Fine Art. After graduation Erik moved to San Francisco, where he taught at the San Francisco Children’s Art Center. One year later he was accepted into the graduate painting department of the University of Wisconsin—Madison on fellowship.
Upon completion of his MFA he moved to Brooklyn, New York where he maintained a studio, taught art and exhibited his artwork. In his relatively young career he has exhibited in numerous places, including New York, London, Berlin, Chicago and at the Museu de Arte de Brasilia. In the Bay Area Erik's work has been exhibited at Southern Exposure, The Headlands Center for the Arts, Blankspace Gallery and most recently at Root Division. Additionally Erik has lectured at universities, given artist talks, garnered residencies and awards.
For over nine years Erik has taught students of all ages, a variety of media from drawing to sculpture. He has taught at many different types of spaces & programs including teaching Color Theory as an adjunct lecturer at University of Wisconsin Madison. Erik currently collaborates with artist Jessica Laurent on art and curatorial projects as part of aptProjects. Erik has recently moved his studio back to San Francisco in order to collaborate on Fivepoints Arthouse, an artist run alternative exhibition space.
CV
Biography
Born 1975, El Paso, TX.
Works/Lives San Francisco, CA.
Education
2004
Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art, 2d area, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
1999
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art, University of Texas at Austin.
Selected Exhibitions (*solo exhibitions marked by asterisk)
2010
Taste 2010: A Garden of Earthly Delights- Root Division, San Francisco, CA.
Inaugural Flat File Exhibition- Golden Parachutes, Golden Parachutes, Berlin, DE.
2009
Salon09- Matt Roberts Arts, London, UK.
Marvels of Construction- Online Exhibit at Beefmaster Gallery and Project Space http://www.beefmastermagazine.com/
Formations- Blankspace Gallery, Oakland, CA.
Front + Center – Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA. Curated by
Kimberly Johansson.
2007
Grounded- Southern Exposure San Francisco, CA. Curated by Kristan Kennedey.
2006
Works on Paper - Flux Factory, Long Island City. Queens, NY. Curated by Nick Normal
Merely The Substitution Of One Piece Of Nonsense For Another - Hastings College
Art Gallery, Hastings, NE.
2005
Performing One Particular Function- Marsh Special Projects
Gallery, Herron School of Art and Design, Indianapolis, IN.
Point-to-Multipoint- Elsewhere Artist Collaborative, Greensboro,NC.
Corporate Bodies- Momenta Art, Brooklyn, NY.
Seven Reasons to Leave Your House- Beverly Art Center, Chicago Ill.
Surfacing- Offbeat Gallery, Minneapolis, MN.
2004
Projekt 30- Online Exhibit at http://www.projekt30.com/main.php
Overlay- Commonwealth Gallery, Madison, WI. A collaborative project curated by
DerrickBuisch and John Hitchcock.
*This Paradise Spell- Seventh Floor Gallery, Madison, WI.
Pretty Vacant- aND GALLERY, St. Paul, MN.
2003
*Classified- Seventh Floor Gallery, Madison, WI.
Fig. 03.03- DeRicci Gallery, Edgewood College, Madison, WI.
Uncouched- La Galeria de la Mision de Senecu, El Paso, TX.
Centro-Oestes Nucleo Madison- Museu de Arte de Brasilia, Brasilia, D.F. Brasil.
Another Line on the Resume- 410 Project, Mankato, MN.
Professional Experience
2007 to present
Teaching Artist- San Francisco Arts Education Project, San Francisco CA.
Awards & Honors
Second Place, El Paso Art Association Arts International Exhibit 2002.
Advanced Opportunity Fellowship, University of Wisconsin-Madison 2001.
College of Fine Arts Dean’s List, Fall 1997, Spring 1998.
Bibliography
The Daily Southtown, March 30, 2005.
The El Paso Times, July 27, 2003.
The El Paso Times, September 12, 2002.
Publications
“On Art and Water” Critical Essay on Olaffur Eliasson’s use of water as a medium,
Plastic Antinomy, Fall 2009, 14-15.
“Cosmos Deep” Critical Review of Bryson Gil’s solo exhibition,
BeefMasterMagazine www.beefmastermagazine.com , Feb. 2010.
Visiting Artist Lectures
University of Wisconsin—Madison- Madison, WI, March 22, 2010.
Portland Community College- Portland, OR, April 17, 2008.
Western University- Bellingham, WA, February 22, 2007.
Hastings College- Hastings, NE. January 9 &10, 2006.
University of Wisconsin –Stevens Point, Stevens Point Wisconsin. November 21, 2003.
DeRicci Gallery, Edgewood College, Madison, WI. September 24, 2003.
Conkling Gallery, Minnesota State University, Mankato MN. February 10, 2003.
Artist Residencies
Elswhere Artist Collaborative, Greensboro, NC. July 31 through August 31, 2005. www.elsewhereelsewhere.org
Registries & Flat File Programs
The Drawing Center, New York, NY. http://www.drawingcenter.org/viewingprogram/
BayVAN, San Francisco, CA. http://www.bayvan.org/services.php
Golden Parachutes, Berlin, DE. http://www.goldenparachutes.net/
Exhibitions Curated
please see aptProjects