Erica Iman Studio

STATEMENT

I work intuitively while making, responding to the form, surface and overall feel, ripping at edges and emphasizing natural cracks. Many of my techniques come from mimicking nature's processes such as freeze and thaw, extreme moisture and drought, and erosion.

Intuition and an inner, centered emotion both play a large role during the creation of my work. I push back and forth between masculine and feminine, raw and refined; the exuberance of traveling to a foreign land and the inner clarity and resonance of simply being.

I’m drawn to a sense of timelessness, the origin story of a stone, a glacier, or cracked desert earth, something that roots us in our existence beyond what humans have constructed.

My work helps locate and orient me in the world. They are way posts, markers, guides, fragments, or cairns for exploring the essence of our physical and inner landscapes.

BIO

Erica Iman is a sculptor, painter, and designer working primarily in clay and raw earth materials with forms based in geology and fragmented landscapes.

In 2005, between earning her BFA, BSE, and MFA degrees, she served 2 years in the U.S. Peace Corps on the Eastern Steppe of Mongolia teaching English and Gardening while exploring the Gobi desert and Altai Mountains. In 2007, she was a selected participant in the International Workshop for Ceramic Arts in Tokoname, (IWCAT) Japan program,
spending the summer studying contemporary and ancient Japanese pottery and culture.

Erica is currently a studio artist in Lawrence, Kansas, is a founding member of the KC Urban Potters, and an Artist Inc. facilitator. She has taught in various schools and art centers across the United States. Besides selling at 10-12 of the country's top juried art fairs each year (from Portland, OR, to Armonk, NY, and from Miami, FL, to La Quinta, CA) she has shown at the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, has annual solo shows at Carter & Co., St. Helena, CA, and has been invited to show at Direktorenhaus Art Museum in Berlin.

EXHIBITIONS/SHOWS/COMMISSIONS

2024
February 17-19, Coconut Grove Art Festival, Miami, FL
February 23-25, The National Art Fair, Naples, FL
May 3-5, Brookside Art Annual, Kansas City, MO
May 31-June 2, Prairie Village Art Fair, Prairie Village, KS
July 5-7, Cherry Creek Art Festival, Denver, CO
July 12-14, Art on the Rockies, Edwards, CO
August 2-4, Kimball Arts Festival, Park City, UT
September 6-8, St. Louis Art Fair, Clayton, MO
September 20-22, Plaza Art Fair, Kansas City, MO
October, 60" x 36" and diptych of (2) 48" x 36" paintings for Schwartz, McMinimee & Andrew, LLC, Denver, CO.

2023
January 26-April 20, Coalescence: Exploring Contemporary Ceramics, Daum Museum, Sedalia, MO
February 18-20, Coconut Grove Art Festival, Coconut Grove, FL
March 4-6, Gasparilla Art Festival, Tampa, FL
March 24-26, Bayou Arts Festival, Houston, TX
March 28-June 4, WITNESS | holding time, Penland Gallery, NC
May 5-7, Brookside Art Annual, Kansas City, MO
June 23-25, Des Moines Art Festival, Des Moines, IA
July 1-3, Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Denver, CO
July 15-16, Aspen Art Fair, Aspen, CO
August 4-6, Park City Kimball Arts Festival, Park City, UT
August-September Solo Show, Carter + Co., St. Helena, CA
September 2-4, Art in the Pearl, Portland, OR
September 9-11, St. Louis Art Fair, Clayton, MO
September 23-25, Plaza Art Fair, Kansas City, MO
October 1-2, Armonk Art Fair, Armonk, NY
November, La Quinta Art Festival, La Quinta, CA

2022
February 11, Making It Big: Large Pots by Four Women Potters, Signature Gallery, Atlanta, GA
March 25-27, Bayou City Arts Festival, Houston, TX
April 7-10, Main Street Arts Festival, Fort Worth, TX
April 29-May 1, Brookside Art Annual, Kansas City, MO
May 6-8, Artisphere, Greenville, SC
May 2-June 25, Silence. In the Absence of Noise, Center for the Arts Evergreen, Evergreen, CO
June 24-26, Des Moines Art Festival, Des Moine, IA
July 1-3, Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Denver, CO
July-Aug., Carter & Co., St. Helena, CA (solo gallery show)
August 5-7, Kimball Arts Festival, Park City, UT
August 12-14, Sun Valley Arts & Crafts Festival, Ketchum, ID
September 9-11, St. Louis Art Fair, St. Louis, MO
December, triptych of 50" x 50" paintings for Michigan client

2021
February, Exquisite Forms III, Online at Charlie Cummings Gallery
June, Yunomi Invitational, Online at Clay Akar
September 4-6, awarded BEST IN SHOW, Cherry Creek Art' Festival
September 10-12, St. Louis Art Fair, Clayton, MO
September 24-26, Plaza Art Fair, Kansas City, MO
October, 57" x 57" painting commission for Lenexa, KS client

2020
February, Stephen Smith Gallery, Topeka, KS
August, Group Show of New Work, Sager Braudis Gallery, Columbia, MO
September 4-Oct. 31 Digital Debut, Belger Arts Center, Kansas City, MO

2017
April, FORMATION, solo exhibition at Reese Gallery, St. Louis, MO

EDUCATION

2011 MFA Ceramics, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville
2003 BA University of Missouri, Columbia
2001 Bachelor of Education, University of Missouri, Columbia

AWARDS

2024
SILVER AWARD in PAINTING, Coconut Grove Art Festival, Miami, FL
BEST IN SHOW, Brookside Art Annual, Kansas City, MO
FIRST PLACE AWARD, St. Louis Art Fair, Clayton, MO
EXCELLENCE AWARD, Plaza Art Fair, Kansas City, MO

2023
BEST IN SHOW, Coconut Grove Art Festival, Coconut Grove, FL
2nd PLACE OVERALL, Bayou Arts Festival, Houston, TX
BEST IN SHOW, Brookside Art Annual, Kansas City, MO
JUROR'S AWARD, Des Moines Art Fair, Des Moines, IA

2021
BEST IN SHOW, Cherry Creek Art' Festival
JUROR'S AWARD, St. Louis Art Fair, Clayton, MO
EXCELLENCE AWARD, Plaza Art Fair, Kansas City, MO

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

2013 to present, studio artist (painting and ceramic sculpture), Kansas City, MO and Lawrence, KS
2014 to present, conducted ceramic workshops for universities and art centers across the United States
2019-2022, Mid-America Arts Alliance, Artist Inc. facilitator
2014, founding member of Kansas City Urban Potters
2012, adjunct ceramics professor, St. Louis Community College, Forest Park, St. Louis, MO

TAGS

Erica Iman, contemporary design, abstract paintings, Japanese aesthetic, Scandinavian aesthetic, design paintings, large abstract paintings