Utilizing illusionistic painting, Erika Lizée reimagines the surfaces of the gallery walls with real and metaphorical dividing lines to explore phenomena that were once considered inexplicable or magical but are continually redefined by scientific discovery. Please join us on Friday February 5 from 6-8 pm for the opening reception of "...and yet, things continue to unfold" and the premiere of Ms. Lizée’s newest installation.

Through her work, Lizée seeks to express the conflicting feelings of wonder and uncertainty when contemplating the fluid and impermanent nature of reality. In her current installation work, she is interested in representing the relationship between the known and unknown, the visible and invisible, the tangible and intangible. Mysterious and abstract elements appear beyond the surface of the wall, while others emerge from this space into the physical realm of the viewer. Trompe l’oeil illusions and sculptural paintings work in conjunction with actual light and shadow to play with the perceptions of the viewer. This creates a transformative experience as perceptions shift with greater understanding of the relationship between artistic materials and exhibition space. The installation serves as a metaphor for the journey of our personal and shared life experiences.

Christina Nafziger from Beautiful/Decay writes about Lizée’s work,  “Artist Erika Lizée re-imagines reality in twisted, magnificent forms that bend through our world and into the next. In her incredibly installations, she uses acrylic on Duralar, a translucent kind of film that allows light to pierce through some of the work. They are paintings that have sprung into the third dimension. Lizée’s sculptures are like otherworldly beings, shifting in and out of our world’s outer boundaries. By using Trompe l’oeil painting technique, she creates an illusion that you can see this other being behind the wall of the gallery. It is as if there is a magical world that we now have the chance to peer in to.”

Erika Lizée was born in Chicago, Illinois. She earned her BFA in Painting from the University of North Carolina at Asheville in 1999, and her MFA in Painting from California State University, Northridge, in 2007. In 2008, she was hired as full-time faculty at Moorpark College where she is currently an Associate Professor of Art. She teaches Drawing, Painting, Two-Dimensional Design, and Gallery Practices, and is the Director of the Moorpark College Art Gallery. Lizée is an artist that works in the mediums of drawing, painting, and installation.

Her artwork has been exhibited throughout the United States and abroad. In 2015, Lizée constructed installations at GALA Exhibits (Glendale, CA), the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Angel’s Ink Gallery (San Pedro, CA), and Gallery H of Phantom Galleries (Los Angeles). Lizée is slated to exhibit within the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and 643 Project Space in Ventura in 2016. She resides in West Hills, California, with her husband and two young children.