Erika Sanada, “Outcast”
Exhibition runs: September 30th – October 29th, 2023
Northport, NY– Haven Gallery is pleased to present “Outcast”, a mini solo exhibition of new work by Tokyo born, now California based artist Erika Sanada. “Outcast” is Sanada third solo show at the gallery and features a collection of eight ceramic works that serve as a visual representation of her anxiety and the feelings of emotional alienation that follow. Using sculpture, Sanada faces these feelings head on as she expresses herself in a multitude of ways.
Sanada is known for her candy colored sculptures of animals, usually puppies, playing, dreaming and interacting with other animal cohorts. The puppies represent Erika and the empathetic viewer, while the added animals represent notions of anxiety.
Exploring the motif of being an outcast is a continuation of using her art as a means of coping and confronting these feelings of emotional and mental adversity.
About Erika Sanada
Erika Sanada is ceramic artist and her early inspirations stem from the creatures and characters of dark films. Watching film was a way of escaping from her bitter childhood. She creates hand sculpted hairless ceramic creatures and they are often adorable, but also have bizarre shapes. Her artwork has been shown at a number of art fairs, museums and both domestic and international galleries. She held a solo show at Canton Museum of Art in Ohio. Herr work has been published in Hi-Fructose Magazine, Hey! Magazine and Beautiful Bizarre Magazine.
Artist Statement
My work expresses the constant anxiety I face every day.
Since I was little, I always worried about meaningless things and felt a little different from the other kids. Growing up, this habit became bigger, and even now I overthink a lot of things. This makes me feel like I’m an outcast, but I’m also trying to cope with this anxiety. This body of work expresses my alienation and expresses my will to face it.
