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CIEL Creative Space
2611 Eight Street, Berkeley CA 94710
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ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Erik Otto’s work unites the unexpected through the disciplines of abstract painting, sculpture, and installation that stimulate mind, body, and soul. Influenced by graffiti, free dance, and drum culture introduced to him by his peers, Otto branched out and developed a materially-oriented practice heavily guided by improvisation, intuition, and necessity. Exposure to multiple sudden losses, drug addiction, and pain due to physical illness and mental health were commonplace throughout his life thus propelling Otto into his creative work as the driving force to his own inner healing. Themes that embody the human condition, life cycles of existence, and living out a spiritual journey amidst a burdened world are visited and revisited through an endless curiosity of medium and form.
Otto began exhibiting his work immediately upon graduation from San Jose State University in 2005, where he received a degree in Illustration. He lived in San Francisco for 12 years, traveled extensively with 5 years entirely nomadic, frequently visited Mexico City, before he eventually relocated to New York City in 2017 where he currently lives and works.
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ABOUT THE WORK
Erik Otto’s work utilizes color, light, and space to tap into the human experience. At the core, his atmospheric compositions are inspired by the visceral elements of life—emotive strokes that embody the fluidity of water and circular shapes that echo cycles of the sun, the moon, and regeneration. Depicting moments of balance within abstract landscapes that revel in uncertainty, Otto’s work—simultaneously minimal yet vastly complex—combines soft with raw, light with dark, and smooth with textured in a unique gestural language derived from unconventional tools often accented by the warm glow of neon.
Influenced by spiritual connections within natural environments, Otto’s work explores both ephemerality and permanence amidst an ever evolving existence dominated by constant flux. His work calls attention to birth and death in unison while emphasizing the powerfully fleeting moments in between. Throughout his work, he points to hope in seasons of darkness, stillness by means of acceptance, and breakthrough by way of consistent persistence. By relating through personal experience, he aims to inspire deeper connection and meaning during a current unnecessarily complicated social climate filled with divisiveness and distress.
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For more information, please contact: studio@erikotto.com
Surface Tension
synthetic polymer, enamel, aerosol, paper collage and correctional tape on panel
42 x 60 in.
2018
$6,800.
Tension Resolution (02)
acrylic, enamel, aerosol, screen print and correctional tape on panel
48 x 36 in.
2017
$3,500.
Presence (02)
acrylic, aerosol and wax pencil on canvas
30 x 40 in.
2021
SOLD
Presence (03)
acrylic, aerosol and wax pencil on canvas
30 x 40 in.
2021
SOLD
Refuge (01)
plaster, pigment, aerosol and neon on panel
32 x 48 x 4 in.
2020
$5,400.
Ascension (01)
synthetic polymer, aerosol, oil stick and sand on canvas
36 x 44 in.
2022
$4,300.
Rise (01)
synthetic polymer, aerosol and sand on panel
18 x 18 x 2 in.
2021
$850.
All That Remains (09)
synthetic polymer, aerosol, correction tape and vinyl film on museum board in white metal frame
20 x 20 in.
2022
$800.
All That Remains (10)
synthetic polymer, aerosol, correction tape and vinyl film on museum board in white metal frame
20 x 20 in.
2022
$800.
All That Remains (11)
synthetic polymer, aerosol, correction tape and vinyl film on museum board in white metal frame
20 x 20 in.
2022
$800.
Fortitude
synthetic polymer, aerosol, sand, cement, mica, blue quartz and neon on plexiglass and panel
36 x 30 x 4 in.
2022
$6,400.
Nominal (01)
powdered marble, acrylic, pigment, vinyl and plexiglass on panel
16 x 20 in.
2022
SOLD
Endure (02)
cement, sand, acrylic and aerosol on panel
16 x 20 in.
2022
SOLD
Transformation
acrylic, aerosol, sand, pigment, paper collage and neon light on panel
30 x 30 x 4 in.
2021
SOLD
Further (02)
synthetic polymer, aerosol, sand, cement, mica and neon on plexiglass and panel
32 x 24 x 2 in.
2022
SOLD
Further (01)
synthetic polymer, aerosol, sand, cement, mica and neon on plexiglass and panel
32 x 24 x 2 in.
2022
SOLD
Adapt (01)
cement, sand, acrylic, aerosol, pigment and plexiglass on panel
16 x 20 in.
2022
$880.
Breakaway (01)
cement, sand, acrylic, aerosol, pigment and plexiglass on panel
16 x 20 in.
2022
$880.
For more information, please contact: studio@erikotto.com