Emily Payne was born in San Francisco and grew up in Mill Valley, California and Amherst, Massachusetts. She went to Oberlin College where she studied English and Women’s Studies. Emily moved to San Francisco after college and studied figure drawing and oil painting. Her love of making sculptural things with paper led her to pursue an MFA in printmaking and book arts at San Francisco State University. In the midst of busy, often noisy classrooms, she anchored her concentration with heavy, low tech but utterly reliable tools like the letterpress, the book press and a beat up wooden ceramics table she found abandoned in the corner of the sculpture lab. It became her makeshift studio space.
At the heart of Emily Payne's work is drawing. Even her large hanging wire sculptures are like drawings in 3 dimensional space. By reducing things to their simplest elements, she finds that they have maximum interaction with the space around them. Shadows and the play of air around an object or work on paper is as important to the work as the work itself.
Born, San Francisco, CA
EXHIBITIONS
2012
SEAGER GRAY GALLERY, Mill Valley
-The Art of the Book: Seventh Annual Group Exhibition
-ArtMRKT, San Francisco: Bay Area contemporary and modern art fair
-Aqua Art Miami, National Arts Festival, Miami
KALA ART INSTITUTE, Berkeley
“On View: New Works by Kala,” group show
Kala-fornia: State of the Art 2 benefit
ERICA TANOV, Berkeley
-Solo Exhibition of wire works and paintings used in fabric print designs
-Introducing Fall 2012 collection by clothing designer Erica Tanov featuring fabric designs by Emily Payne
DONNA SEAGER GALLERY, San Rafael
-Full Circle: Solo show of wire sculptures, drawings and paintings
-The Art of the Book: Sixth Annual Group Exhibition
-Codex International Book Fair & Symposium, UC: Berkeley
-Aqua Art Miami, National Arts Festival, Miami
CONRAD WILDE GALLERY, Tucson, AZ
“Reconstructions”: a group show of altered book works
BANK OF COMMERCE, Lafayette
“Habitat”: a group show of Bay Area contemporary artists
2010
AQUA ART MIAMI, National Art Festival, Miami
Represented by Donna Seager Gallery, San Rafael
ARTSPACE, Santa Rosa
“Line Up”: group show of self-portraits by 16 local artists
KALA ART INSTITUTE, Berkeley
“Groundswell”: juried group exhibition
ART AT THE CHEESE FACTORY, Petaluma
“239”: an indoor sculpture and painting installation
BEDFORD GALLERY, Walnut Creek
“Unbound”: a group exhibition of artwork made from books
2009
SFMOMA ARTISTS GALLERY, San Francisco
-Solo exhibition of wire sculptures and paintings
-Ongoing participant in Rental/Art Purchase Program, 2009-present
CECILE MOOCHNEK GALLERY, Berkeley
“Seamarks”: two-person show of new “Basin” paintings
ERICA TANOV, Berkeley
“Hover”: a site-specific solo sculpture installation
ART AT THE CHEESE FACTORY, Petaluma
“Haven”: an outdoor sculpture installation
GALLERY ROUTE ONE, Point Reyes Station
Juried group exhibition
2008
SANCHEZ ART CENTER, Pacifica
Juried group exhibition
MARIN MOCA, Novato
Juried group exhibition
2007
CECILE MOOCHNEK GALLERY, Berkeley
“Lightness of Being”: two-person show
2006
EARLVILLE OPERA HOUSE GALLERY, Earlville, NY
“The Shadow series”: solo exhibition of sculptures and paintings
2005
CECILE MOOCHNEK GALLERY, Berkeley
“Sojourns”: two-person show
2004
CECILE MOOCHNEK GALLERY, Berkeley
Two-person sculpture and painting show
2002
DAVIS ART CENTER, Davis
“plaster, paper, graphite”: solo exhibition
THE MUSEUM OF ART & HISTORY, Santa Cruz
“Refuse/ Reuse/ Redux”: group exhibition
2001
CECILE MOOCHNEK GALLERY, Berkeley
“Lesson of Things”: solo exhibition
CECILE MOOCHNEK GALLERY, Berkeley
“Gift of Art” Annual Group Exhibition, 2001-09
1999
SFMOMA ARTIST’S GALLERY, San Francisco
Three-person sculpture exhibit
S.F. ART COMMISSION GALLERY, San Francisco
“Fahrenheit 451”: group exhibition
BERKELEY ART CENTER, Berkeley
“Works on paper”: National juried exhibition
ARTISAN’S GALLERY, Mill Valley
“Bookmakers: West Coast”: group exhibition
1998
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN STATE UNIV., Nagadoches, TX
“Image and Text II” group book works exhibition
“Image and Text II” conference lecture: “Redefining the Book”
PUBLIC ART
555 GALLERY, City Center, Oakland
Solo wire sculpture and works on paper exhibition
Curated by the Oakland Museum of California, 2011
KALA ART INSTITUTE, Berkeley
Barra Windows Book Art Installation, Milvia and Addison Streets, 2010-11
MILLS BUILDING, San Francisco
Group exhibition: 10 Kala artists curated by Kala/ArtSource Consulting, 2011
JEFFERSON PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, Berkeley
Public Art installations, funded by Berkeley Public Education Found., 2007-11
GORDON AND BETTY MOORE FOUNDATION, Palo Alto
“Hover”, permanent wire sculpture installation, 2009
LAFAYETTE LIBRARY & LEARNING CENTER, Lafayette
Public Art Purchase Program (framed book cover piece), 2009
ALAMEDA COUNTY ARTS COMMISSION, Oakland
Public Art Purchase Program for County Clerks Office, 2008
KAISER PERMANENTE MEDICAL CENTER, San Clara
Public Art Commission for main lobby, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY, San Francisco
Permanent sculpture installation: a collaborative project between sculptor Ruth Asawa, the SFSU MFA program and the S.F. School of the Arts
AWARDS AND COMMENDATIONS
Graduate Student Award for Distinguished Achievement
San Francisco State University, 1999
Cadogan/Murphy Fellowship
San Francisco Foundation, 1998
Stillwell Award (second year MFA student)
San Francisco State University, 1998
EDUCATION
SAN FRANCISCO STATE UNIVERSITY, MFA,Printmaking and Book Arts, 1999
OBERLIN COLLEGE, OHIO, B.A. English and Women’s Studies, 1988