Biography
Erik Richard Parra was born and raised along the vibrant border metroplex of El Paso, Texas/ Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. He was raised by a father who was a painter and a mother who was a school teacher in a “Midcentury Modern” house full of books, country music, sports, film, jazz, painting, and cartoons. He began drawing as soon as he could hold a pencil but started studying painting, seriously at the University of Texas at Austin where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts. After graduation Erik moved to San Francisco, where he taught at the San Francisco Children’s Art Center. One year later he went on to study and ultimately receive his Master of Fine Arts degree in the 2-d area at the University of Wisconsin—Madison, on fellowship.
Upon completion of his MFA he moved to Brooklyn, NY where he maintained a studio, taught art and exhibited his artwork. After three years he accepted a temporary adjunct position teaching color theory at his alma mater, UW Madison. After this appointment Erik moved his studio back to San Francisco in order to collaborate on Fivepoints Arthouse, a dynamic artist run alternative exhibition space based on the traditional “art house” model. He worked as head curator for three years and developed the visual art programme for this project that hosted film screenings, live music and literary events in addition to curated art exhibitions for five years.
Currently he maintains a studio based in the Bay View section of San Francisco, California. Erik has exhibited internationally in alternative spaces, commercial galleries and museums. He has had solo exhibitions in San Francisco, Portland and Reno and group exhibitions in Berlin, Brazil, Los Angeles, London and New York. In the Bay Area Erik’s work has been exhibited at Blankspace Gallery, Johansson Projects, The Headlands Center for the Arts, Root Division, Southern Exposure, Kala Art Institute, the Berkeley Art Center and most recently at Eleanor Harwood Gallery. His work is widely held in private and corporate collections in the US and abroad. Erik’s work has been included in publications including New American Paintings, the SF Bay Guardian and the LA Times.
Erik has taught art to students of all ages in a variety of media including painting, drawing, serigraphy and ceramics. He has taught at many different types of spaces & programs including Southern Exposure and the San Francisco Arts Education Project. Currently he teaches at City College of San Francisco and at the California College of the Arts. Additionally, he works on commissions, lectures at universities, and garners residencies. Most recently he was awarded an inaugural Liquitex Research Residency.
CV
Born: 1975, El Paso, TX.
Works/Lives: San Francisco, CA.
Education
2004 Master of Fine Arts, Studio Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI.
1999 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Studio Art, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX.
Teaching Experience
2024—Present Adjunct Professor, Berkeley City College, Berkeley, CA.
2023—Present Senior Adjunct Professor, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA.
2021—2023 Adjunct II Professor, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA.
2016—2021 Adjunct Professor, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA.
Selected Awards & Honors
2020 Research Fellowship. The Internet Archive (Summer).
2018 The Hopper Prize, Grant Winner (Spring), San Francisco, CA.
2012 Nominated as a Candidate for San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), SECA (Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art) Award, San Francisco, CA.
2010 Creative Capital Professional Development Program, Nominated by Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA.
2002 Second Place, El Paso Art Association Arts International Exhibit, El Paso, TX.
2001 Advanced Opportunity Fellowship, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI.
1998 College of Fine Arts Dean’s List, Fall 1997, (Spring)
Solo Exhibitions
2024 In The Cut: between the studio and exhibition, San Francisco Arts Education Project (SFArtsED) Residency, SFArtsED Gallery Space, San Francisco, CA.
2022 Erik Parra, Maybaum Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2020 Insides Out, Eleanor Harwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
High Rise, Adobe Books Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2018 History by Choice, Eleanor Harwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2016 In The Same River Twice, State Space, San Francisco, CA.
2015 Each Devil His Own, Transmission Gallery, Oakland, CA.
2013 Capturing the Void, Nisus Gallery, Portland, OR.
This: A Contemporary Situation, Sheppard Contemporary and University Galleries, University of Nevada Reno, NV.
2012 West Facing, Truesilver Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2010 Between Currencies, Johansson Projects, Oakland, CA.
2009 Marvels of Construction, Online Exhibit, Beefmaster Gallery and Project Space.
2004 This Paradise Spell, MFA Thesis exhibit, Seventh Floor Gallery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI.
Selected Group Exhibitions
2025 ART FWD 5x5x5, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, San Rafael, CA
2024 Cut Paste Create: The Art of Collage, Bedford Gallery, Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, CA.
Oddkin, Hashimoto Contemporary SF, San Francisco, CA.
The Peralta Colleges District-Wide Faculty Invitational, June Steingart Gallery, Laney College, Oakland, CA.
We Just Wanna Be Somebody Someday, Hooper Atrium Gallery, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA.
2023 Prêt à Placer, Anglim Trimble, San Francisco, CA.
Erik Parra | John Miranda, Maybaum Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Architecture in Contemporary Art, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA. (Juried by Frank Escher and Ravi GuneWardena)
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Person, Hooper Atrium Gallery, California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA.
2022 Trying Harder, OPENS Gallery, Portland, OR.
Living Things: Artists and their Objects of Affection, SFArtsED Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Erik Parra & Erika Lee Sears, Maybaum Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2021 RePurposeful, The Art of Collage & Assemblage, Randall Museum, San Francisco, CA.
11th Annual Anniversary Group Exhibition, Incline Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
On Location: Artists Explore a Sense of Place, Peninsula School of Art, Fish Creek, WI.
48 Pillars, Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2020 Art Made in Quarantine, Instagram, Curated by Paddy Johnson.
Ransom 2, Brooklyn Wayfarers, Brooklyn, NY.
Sea/ Change, San Francisco Arts Education Gallery, Minnesota Street Projects, San Francisco, CA.
The Future of_Space 2020, A+D Museum, Los Angeles, CA.
2019 Bazaar: A Group Exhibition of Small Works, Marrow Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
The Space Between, Marrow Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
2018 The Plant Show, Swim Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
Mixed Tape, Mom and Pop Art Shop, Richmond, CA.
2017 Framework: Elements of Architecture, North Seattle College Art Gallery, Seattle, WA.
2016 How to Build A Foghorn, Samuel Freeman Gallery, Los Angeles, CA.
Perpetual Sunset, 2731 Prospect Contemporary Art, Cleveland, OH.
in this place, c2c project space, San Francisco, CA.
2015 Botanica: All Things Plant Life, Bedford Gallery at the Lesher Center For the Arts, Walnut Creek, CA.
2014 Make Space, Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA.
MAS ATTACK 6, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA.
Artists Across America, Flower Pepper Gallery, Pasadena, CA.
2013 This Will Never Work, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA. (Juried by Corrina Peipon & Mary Magsamen)
Ransom, Brooklyn Wayfarers, Brooklyn, NY.
Paperworks, BJ Spoke Gallery, Huntington, NY.
Summer Group Exhibition, Fouladi Projects, San Francisco, CA.
A 2ND Show, Purple Pop-Up Gallery, El Paso, TX.
2012 The End, Big Medium Gallery, Austin, TX. (Curated by Cantanker Magazine)
Myths of Progress, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA. (Curated by Lauren Davies)
2011 Juried Annual 2012, PROARTS, Oakland, CA. (Juried by Hamza Walker)
Chain Letter, Samson Projects, Boston, MA.
Wild Country, Space Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
The Letter Collector, Gallery Hijinks, San Francisco, CA.
2010 Small Works, Important Presence, WE Artspace, Oakland, CA.
Taste 2010: A Garden of Earthly Delights, Root Division, San Francisco, CA.
Inaugural Flat File Exhibition, Golden Parachutes, Berlin, DE.
2009 Salon09, Matt Roberts Arts, London, UK.
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 Kennedy)
2006 Works on Paper, Flux Factory, Long Island City, Queens, NY. (Curated by Nick Normal)
2005 Point-to-Multipoint, Elsewhere Artist Collaborative, Greensboro, NC.
Corporate Bodies, Momenta Art, Brooklyn, NY.
NOVA: Young Art Fair, Chicago, IL.
Selected Bibliography
Pencil Magazine, Issue Zero, September, 2024.
“COLLAGE 2024 Catalogue,” Aird Gallery, August 23, 2024. (Juried by Ilene Sova) https://airdgallery.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/AIRD_Collage-2024.pdf
Friend of The Artist, Juried Exhibitions in Print, Volume 18, June 22, 2024.
Tanya Gayer, “Featured Artists,” MAAKE Magazine (11). 2020.
Charmaine Koh, Shotgun Review, “Erik Parra: History By Choice at Eleanor Harwood Gallery,” Art Practical, May 8, 2018.
Christian Frock, “Gallery Highlights,” SF Arts Monthly, April 2018.
Christopher Knight, “Uncharted Seas in ‘How to Build a Foghorn’ at Samuel Freeman Gallery,” Los Angeles Times, August 12, 2016.
“New American Paintings,” Juried Exhibitions in Print, Issue #115, Pacific Coast Competition, December 2014 - January 2015.
DeWitt Cheng, “Out and About at Zughaus, Krowswork, and WE Artspace,” East Bay Express, April 20, 2011.
Sam Stander, “Pick of the Week,” The San Francisco Bay Guardian, vol.44, no. 43, July 28- August 3, 2010.
Emmanuel Hapsis and Kristin Farr, “Studio Invasion,” KQED Arts, September 4, 2010.
“MomentaArt 2004/2005 Catalogue,” MomnetaArt Brooklyn, NY, 2005.
Radio
Beyond the Studio, Podcast, Interview with Amanda Adams and Nicole Mueller, Season 2, Episode 13 March 21, 2019.
Cranium Corporation, Podcast, Interview with artist Erik Parra with Á.R. Vázquez-Concepción, September 23, 2017.
KALX Berkeley, Arts in Review, Interview with Svea Vikander, Berkeley, CA January 7, 2016.
Congratulations Pine Tree, Podcast, Interview with Kate Rhoades and Maysoun Wazwaz, SF, CA July 6, 2016.
Selected Visiting Artist Lectures
2019 Stanford University, Stanford, CA, February 6.
2015 Stamford American International School, Singapore, SG, February 7.
2014 University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, September 10.
2013 Portland Community College, Portland, OR, December 3.
2011 University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, October 22.
Selected Permanent Collections
Fannie Mae, San Francisco, CA.
Kimberley Johansson, San Francisco, CA.
Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
Tommy Guerrero, San Francisco, CA.
Artist Residencies
2024 San Francisco Arts Education Project (SFArtsED) Artist-In-Resident, San Francisco, CA. (October - November)
2020 Iris Project Residency, Los Angeles, CA. (September)
2017-18 Liquitex Research Residency, San Francisco, CA. (December 2017 - January 2018)
2015 Stamford American International School, Singapore, SG. (January 18 - February 10)
2013 Sheppard Contemporary and University Galleries, University of Nevada, Reno, NV. (October 11 - 18)
2005 Elsewhere Artist Collaborative, Greensboro, NC. (July 31 - August 31)
Professional Service
2022-24 Board Member, San Francisco Arts Education Project (SFArtsED), San Francisco, CA.
Gallery Affiliations
Maybaum Gallery, San Francisco, CA.