Erik Parra

Overview
Erik Parra
"Architecture is supposed to keep us safe. To achieve this simple directive, we must navigate a complex system which effects both our personal and cultural psyches. We share experiences of a built environment colored by personal, political and practical realities that often feel simultaneously antagonistic and comforting. I make paintings and drawings that engage the visual tropes of contemporary spaces to reveal and revise the stories embedded in the environments we build."
—Erik Parra
 
Erik Richard Parra was born and raised in El Paso, TX. He holds a Bachelor’s of Fine Art degree in painting from The University of Texas at Austin and a Master’s of Fine Art degree in painting, completed while on fellowship at the University of Wisconsin—Madison. After graduate school he lived, worked and exhibited in Brooklyn, NY. 
 
Erik Parra has exhibited internationally in alternative spaces, commercial galleries and museums. He has mounted 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 the Headlands Center for the Arts, Southern Exposure, and Berkeley Art Center. 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. Additionally, Erik teaches at the California College of the Arts and City College of San Francisco. He has garnered residencies and awards including the Hopper Prize, a Liquitex Research Residency and most recently he was awarded a residency at Iris Project Residency in Los Angeles. 
Download Artist's CV (PDF, opens in a new tab.)
Works
  • Erik Parra, Walking Softly, 2026
    Walking Softly, 2026
  • Erik Parra, Foundations, 2025
    Foundations, 2025
  • Erik Parra, Relationships of Relationships, 2025
    Relationships of Relationships, 2025
  • Erik Parra, Still Life with Vessels, 2025
    Still Life with Vessels, 2025
  • Erik Parra, Tear or Tear, 2025
    Tear or Tear, 2025
  • Erik Parra, Chasing the Dragon, 2019
    Chasing the Dragon, 2019
  • Erik Parra, Interior for Anni
    Interior for Anni
  • Erik Parra, Little Dipper
    Little Dipper
  • Erik Parra, Mesa Grande
    Mesa Grande
  • Erik Parra, Tangled
    Tangled
  • Erik Parra, Watering Hole II
    Watering Hole II
  • Erik Parra, Chartreuse (Chasing the Dragon 5)
    Chartreuse (Chasing the Dragon 5)
  • Erik Parra, Monstera, Fireplace and Globe: A Modern Arrangement
    Monstera, Fireplace and Globe: A Modern Arrangement
  • Erik Parra, Mesa Vista
    Mesa Vista
  • Erik Parra, Rearview (Chasing the Dragon)
    Rearview (Chasing the Dragon)
  • Erik Parra, Arrangement with Triangle
    Arrangement with Triangle
  • Erik Parra, La Playa Still Life
    La Playa Still Life
  • Erik Parra, Picture Window
    Picture Window
  • Erik Parra, Pool Reflections
    Pool Reflections
  • Erik Parra, Still Life With Orchid
    Still Life With Orchid
  • Erik Parra, Forth
    Forth
  • Erik Parra, Back
    Back
Exhibitions
Biography
Erik Parra

Born 1975, El Paso, TX.

 

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

 

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

1997-98 College of Fine Arts Dean’s List, Fall, Spring

 

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2023 Erik Parra, Maybaum Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2022 Erik Parra, Maybaum Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2020 Insides Out, Eleanor Harwood Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2020 High Rise, Adobe Books Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2018 History by Choice, Eleanor Harwood Gallery, 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

2013 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

 

Selected Group Exhibitions

2024 Seattle Art Fair, Maybaum Gallery, Seattle, WA

2024 We Just Wanna Be Somebody Someday, Hooper Atrium Gallery, California College of the Arts, San  Francisco, CA

2023 Art Miami, Maybaum Gallery, Miami, FL

2023 Prêt à Placer, Anglim Trimble, San Francisco, CA

2023 Seattle Art Fair, Maybaum Gallery, Seattle, WA

2023 San Francisco Art Market, Maybaum Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2023 Architecture in Contemporary Art, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, 

Santa Ana, CA

2022 Art Miami, Maybaum Gallery, Miami, FL

2022 Trying Harder, OPENS Gallery, Portland, OR

2022 Erik Parra & Erika Lee Sears, Maybaum Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2022 Seattle Art Fair, Maybaum Gallery, Seattle, WA

2022 Living Things: Artists and Their Objects of Affection, SFArtsEd Gallery, San Franicso, CA

2022 Headlands Art Auction, Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA

2022 Art Market San Francisco, Maybaum Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2021 11th Annual Anniversary Group Exhibition, Incline Gallery, CA

2021 On Location, Peninsula School of Art, Fish Creek, WI

2020 Art Made in Quarantine, Instagram, Curated by Paddy Johnson

2020 Ransom 2, Brooklyn Wayfarers, Brooklyn, NY

2020 Chain Reaction 13. SF Arts Commission Gallery, CA

2020 Sea/Change, San Francisco Arts Education Gallery, Minnesota Street Projects, San Francisco, CA

2020 The Future of Space 2020, A+D Museum, Los Angeles, CA

2019 Bazaar: A Group Exhibition of Small Works, Marrow Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2019 The Space Between, Marrow Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2018 The Plant Show, Swim Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2018 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

2016 Perpetual Sunset, 2731 Prospect Contemporary Art, Cleveland, OH

2016 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

2014 MAS ATTACK 6, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA

2014 Artists Across America, Flower Pepper Gallery, Pasadena, CA

2013 This Will Never Work, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA

2013 Ransom, Brooklyn Wayfarers, Brooklyn, NY

2013 Paperworks, BJ Spoke Gallery, Huntington NY

2013 Summer Group Exhibition, Fouladi Projects, San Francisco, CA

2013 A 2ND Show, Purple Pop-Up Gallery, El Paso, TX

2012 The End, Big Medium Gallery, Austin, TX

2012 Myths of Progress, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA

2011 Juried Annual 2012, PROARTS, Oakland, CA

2011 Chain Letter, Samson Projects, Boston, MA

2011 Wild Country, Space Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2011 The Letter Collector, Gallery Hijinks, San Francisco, CA

2010 Small Works, Important Presence, WE Artspace, Oakland, CA

Download Artist's CV (PDF, opens in a new tab.)
Events
News