Emily Payne

Emily Payne Biography

Emily Payne Description

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.

Emily Payne Resumé

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