​Erika Stearly 

Artist Bio 
A lifelong resident of Pennsylvania, Erika Stearly vd in group exhibiin group exhibitions in Philadelphia, Washingtomakes paintings of the spaces where people live.  Her paintings, which are both fictional and biographical, have recently been included in group exhibitions in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, and will be featured in a solo exhibition at the BoxHeart Gallery in Pittsburgh early next year. 
in includinfornia.  e been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, including recent shows in Phila.

Ms. Stearly is the recipient of several artist grants, most recently through the Puffin Foundation and the Black Rock Arts Foundation for her work with Take a Painting, an interactive painting installation.  She was the 2015 Emerging Artist in Residence at Penn State University, where she taught undergraduate painting, and a 2018 Visiting Faculty Fellow at Kutztown University.  

Artist Statement 
Convinced that contemporary realities are complex enough to sustain multiple approaches to painting, I integrate representational image-making with abstraction’s emphasis on materiality and mark-making to depict the clutter of household objects. 

Named using the street addresses of the residences depicted, the imagery in these paintings balances ses of the residencetan impulse to faithfully render the objects against the emphasis on the hand of the artist.  The combination of abstraction and representation romanticizes these spaces in a way that invites the viewer to construct their own narrative of the scene.  


CV
​Education
 
2014   MFA, Painting and Drawing
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
 
2009   BFA, Painting
Kutztown University
 
Professional Experience
 
2018   Adjunct Instructor
Warren County Community College, Washington, NJ
            2D Design
 
2017   Adjunct Instructor
Delaware County Community College, Media, PA
            Art and Childhood Development
 
Adjunct Instructor    
Warren County Community College, Washington, NJ
            3D Design
 
2016   Mural Arts Philadelphia,
Mural Training Program
 
Teaching Artist
The Banana Factory, Bethlehem, PA
 
2015   Emerging Artist in Residence
Pennsylvania State University, Altoona, PA
            Methods and Materials (Painting)
 
2014   Volunteer, New Arts Program
Kutztown, PA
 
12-14 Editorial Assistant
The Journal of the National Art Education Association (NAEA)
 
12-13 Graduate Assistantship
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
            Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Art History (3 sections)
            Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Painting (1 section)
            Assistant to the Drawing Search Committee, Art Department
 
11-12 Graduate Assistantship
            Indiana University of Pennsylvania
            Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Art History (4 Sections)
            Assistant to the Graduate Coordinator. Art Department
 
Awards/Grants/Residencies
 
2018   Visiting Faculty Summer Fellowship
 Kutztown University, Kutztown PA
 
2017   InLiquid / Blick Microgrant Grant,
 InLiquid, Philadelphia, PA
 
Artist Residency
Wilson College, Chambersburg, PA
 
            Artist Grant,
The Puffin Foundation, Teaneck, NJ
 
2016   Artist Residency
Wilson College, Chambersburg, PA
 
2014   Travel Grant
Graduate Scholars Forum, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
 
Trespass Artist Residency
Future Tenant, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
 
            Artist Grant
Black Rock Arts Foundation, San Francisco, CA
 
Professional Development Grant
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
 
Travel Grant
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
2013   Take a Painting
Graduate Student Research Grant, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
 
            Properties of Encaustic Paint and Strategies for Integration with Other Materials,                         Graduate Student Research Grant, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
 
            Travel Grant
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
 
2010   Summer Painting Intensive,
Tyler School of Art, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
 
 
Selected Exhibitions
*denotes solo exhibition
**denoted exhibitions curated
 
2019   *Dwell,
BoxHeart Gallery,Pittsburgh, PA
 
            Untitled
Glenn Allen Arts Center, Richmond, VA
 
2018   *Open House
O’Brien Art Gallery, Roane State Community College, Harriman, TN
 
            New Now:  InLiquid’s Newest Members,
InLiquid, Philadelphia, PA
 
            freshstART
 McCall Family Foundation, Los Angeles, CA
 
            Untitled
Bridgette Mayer Art Advisors, Philadelphia, PA
 
            29th Invitational Salon Exhibition of Small Works
New Arts Program, Kutztown, PA (catalogue)  
 
            We Met on Instagram
Willow Street Gallery, Washington, D.C.
 
CHAOS!!!!!! 2018
Ro2 Art, Dallas, TX
 
*Untitled
The Shipley School, Bryn Mawr, PA
 
2017   *Take a Painting
The Alternative Gallery, Allentown, PA
 
C’mon In,
The Cohen Gallery, The GoggleWorks, Reading, PA
 
            *Project Wall
New Arts Program, Kutztown, PA
 
            Untitled
Private Projects, Moonah, Tasmania, Australia
 
28th Invitational Salon Exhibition of Small Works
New Arts Program, Kutzown, PA (catalogue)   
 
            Bound and Unbound IV
University Libraries at the University of South Dakota,            Vermillion, SD
                        Curated by Eli Show
 
            MLAC Teaching Artist Exhibition
Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
                        Curated by Laurel Razka
 
The Curious and the Familiar
Birke Art Gallery, Marshall University, Huntington, WV
 
Faculty Exhibition
Delaware County Community College, Media, PA
 
Annual ArtsQuest Staff and Teaching Artist Exhibition
Banana Factory, Bethlehem, PA
 
*Take a Painting,
Warren County Community College, Washington, NJ
 
Untitled
Zephyr Art Gallery, Whitehall High School, Allentown, PA
 
2016   Transform,
Sykes Gallery, Millersville University
                        Curated by Dr. Dana Carlisle Kletchka
 
27th Invitational Salon Exhibition of Small Works
New Arts Program, Kutzown, PA  (catalogue)  
 
            The Big Draw
Catalyst Gallery, Beacon, NY
                        Curated by Theresa Goodman    
 
2015   26th Invitational Salon Exhibition of Small Works
New Arts Program, Kutztown, PA (catalogue)
 
*This is Where We Used To Live
McLanahan Gallery, Pennsylvania State University
 
2014   December Members
Studio B, Boyertown, PA
 
*Take a Painting
Studio B, Boyertown, PA
 
            *Take a Painting
Eckhaus, Kutztown University
 
            *Take a Painting
Future Tenant, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
 
            *Take a Painting
Kipp Gallery, Indiana University of Pennsylvania (catalogue)
 
            Untitled,
Dixon University Center, Harrisburg, PA
 
 
2013   ** IMAGO, Annex Gallery
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
*The Great Indoors
Fenetre Gallery, Harrisburg Area Community College
            Artist Lecture, July 19, 2013
 
** Tag,
Annex Gallery, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
 
Spectrum,
University Museum,  Indiana University of Pennsylvania  (catalogue)
 
            Interchange
STARTup Incubator Gallery, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania
 
            Person, Place or Thing
Kauffman Gallery, Shippensburg University
 
 
2012   Small Works
 TEJAS Gallery, Dayton, OH
 
            Permutations
Annex Gallery, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
 
            Third Annual Mr. Fred Rogers Regional Juried Exhibition
Latrobe, PA
                        Curated by Joyce Werwie Perry
 
            Coup d’Espace: Palmipsest
Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, D. C.
                        Curated by Steven H. Silberg and Neil C. Jones
 
            Juried Visual Art Exhibition, Three Rivers Arts Festival
Pittsburgh, PA
                        Curated by Linda Benedict-Jones, Murray Home, and Michael Olijnyk
 
            Take Our Word For It
University Museum,  Indiana University of Pennsylvania (catalogue)
                        Curated by Oliver Herring
 
            Graduate Scholars Forum Art Exhibit
Annex Gallery, Indiana University of Pennsylvania
                        Curated by Marie Cochran
 
2010   Push It
Temple Gallery, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA (catalogue)
 
2009   Senior Exhibition,
Sharadin Art Gallery, Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA
                        Curated by Ricardo Viera
 
Bibliography
 
Ron Schira, “GoggleWorks hosts two exhibits: painting and sculpture,” The Reading Eagle, Reading, PA, April 6, 2017

Erika Stearly, “Exhibition Essay,” Twenty-Fifth Annual International Invitational Salon of Small Works,” The New Arts Program, Kutztown, PA, May 2016

Ron Schira, “Art review: An unpretentious ‘December Members’ show in Boyertown,” The Reading Eagle, Reading, PA, December 25, 2014

Joshua Herring, “Eckhaus presents “Take a Painting”; Erika Stearly set to exhibit her interactive exhibition,” The Keystone, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Thursday, October 30, 2014

Erika Stearly, “Take a Painting,” dspace.iup.edu, April 29, 2014.
“Studio Visit,” FreshPaintMagazine.com, April 30, 2014.
Andrew Milliken, “Emerging Artists Exhibit Opens Across Campus,” The Penn, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana, PA, January 31, 2014.
​
Natalie Hotaling, “TAG Exhibition celebrates ‘common experiences’ of community,” The                       Penn, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, April 26, 2013.
 
 
Affiliations
 
Stellers Gallery at Ponte Vedre, Ponte Vedre, FL
BoxHeart Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
InLiquid, Philadelphia, PA