Images
Biography
Exhibitions
CV
Text

Erin M. Riley

© Courtesy of Erin M. Riley, P.P.O.W. and cadet capela
Biography

Born in 1985, Cape Cod, MA
Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY

Erin M. Riley’s meticulously crafted, large-scale tapestries depict intimate, erotic, and psychologically raw imagery that reflects upon relationships, memories, fantasies, sexual violence, and trauma. Collaging personal photographs, images sourced from the internet, newspaper clippings, and other ephemera to create her compositions, the Brooklyn-based weaver exposes the range of women’s lived experiences and how trauma weighs on the search for self-identity. In her review of Riley’s most recent solo exhibition, The Consensual Reality of Healing Fantasies at P·P·O·W, Roberta Smith of the New York Times wrote, “Her richly variegated colors and complex, arresting scenes take full advantage of tapestry’s stitch-by-stitch autonomy.” Riley received her BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and an MFA from the Tyler School of Art.

Her work has been included in solo and group exhibitions at P.P.O.W., New York; cadet capela, Paris; Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles; Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Høvikodden; The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs; Gana Art Gallery, Seoul; among others. Riley is the recipient of a United States Artists Fellowship Grant, 2021 and an American Academy of Arts & Letters Art Purchase Prize, 2021 and has completed residencies at MacDowell Colony, New Hampshire and the Museum of Art and Design, New York. Her work is currently featured in 52 Artists: A Feminist Milestone at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, manifesto of fragility and Kingdom of the Ill at Museion, Bolzano, Italy. Her work was recently on view at the 16th Lyon Biennale of Contemporary Art. ​

Biography by P.P.O.W. Gallery

Exhibitions

Curriculum vitae

Solo and two-person exhibitions
  • 2024
    Upcoming solo exhibition, cadet capela, FR
  • The Invisible Third, UTA Artist Space, Los Angeles, CA, US
  • 2021
    The Consensual Reality of Healing Fantasies, P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York, NY, US
  • 2020
    A Reminder of Bring There, Jonathan Hopson Gallery, Houston, TX, US
  • 2018
    Used Tape, P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York, NY, US
  • 2017
    Head On, Never Apart, Montreal, QC, CA
  • Simple, Hashimoto Contemporary, San Fransisco, CA, US
  • 2016
    18/bi/f/ma, Brilliant Champions, Brooklyn, NY, US
  • Anew, Hashimoto Contemporary, San Francisco, CA, US
  • 2015
    Darkness Lies Ahead, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY, US
  • 2014
    The Pain Comes in Waves, OGAARD Gallery, Oakland, CA, US
  • Crimson Landslide, Space 1026, Philadelphia, PA, US
  • 2013
    Undo, University of Wisconsin Gallery, Oshkosh, WI, US
  • Show Me More, Guerrero Gallery, San Francisco, CA, US
  • 2012
    Crush, Extension Gallery, Boston, MA, US
  • Forgotten in a File, Guerrero Gallery, San Francisco, CA, US
  • 2011
    Erin M Riley, Fleisher Art Memorial, Philadelphia, PA, US
  • Graphic, Central Utah Arts Center, Ephraim, UT, US
  • 2010
    Erin M Riley: New Works, Guerrero Gallery, San Francisco, CA, US
  • Daddy Issues, Helene Davis Gallery, Artspace, Richmond, VA, US
Group exhibitions
  • 2023
    Barbarisms, Pequod Co., Mexico City, MX
  • The Myth of Normal: A Celebration of Authentic Expression, MassArt Art Museum, Boston, MA, US
  • re-materialized: the stuff that matters, kaufmann repetto, New York, NY and Milan, IT
  • 2022
    Kingdom of the Ill: Second chapter of TECHNO HUMANITIES (2021 - 2023), Museion, Bolzano, IT
  • Where Words Falter: Art and Empathy, The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, US
  • Material Knowledge, Arsenal Contemporary Art, New York, NY, US
  • Peripheries, New Child Gallery, Antwerpen, BE
  • Line By Line, curated by Janice Lessman-Moss, CVA Gallery, Kent State University School of Art, Kent, OH, US
  • 2021
    We’re not meant to do this alone, Creative Alliance, Baltimore, MD, US
  • IRL (In Real Life), Timothy Taylor Gallery, London, GB
  • 2020
    Blast Over, curated by Christian Rex van Minnen, Ruttkowski;68, Paris, FR
  • Shag, curated by Laura Hutson Hunter, Nashville Scene, Nashville, TN, US
  • BLUNT!, cadet capela, Paris, FR
  • Never Done: 100 Years of Women in Politics and Beyond, Tang Teaching Museum, Saratoga Springs, NY, US
  • Myselves, curated by Joshua Friedman, Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, US
  • The inaugural Triennial for Photography and New Media, curated by Matt Black, Henie Onstad Kunstsenter, Høvikodden, NO
  • Anthony Gallery, Chicago, IL, US
  • 2019
    Strangers In Town, Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, Berlin, DE
  • Group Show, cadet capela, Montpellier, FR
  • Time Bomb, Wadström Tönnheim Gallery, Marbella, ES
  • Condo Complex, The Sunday Painter, P.P.O.W. Gallery, London, GB
  • Highs and Lows, curated by Justin Adian, Mastbooks, New York, NY, US
  • 2018
    Réalisme d’aujourd’hui, cadet capela, Paris, FR
  • SKINS, Greenpoint Terminal Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, US
  • Weaving New Worlds, William Morris Gallery, London, GB
  • We The People, Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, AZ, US
  • We Rise, Los Angeles, CA, US
  • Buffering, MELK Galleri, Oslo, NO
  • 29th Annual Benefit Art Auction, MassArt, Boston, MA, US
  • New Threads, Laband Art Gallery, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, US
  • Into Action, Los Angeles, CA, US
  • 2017
    NSFW: Female Gaze, Museum of Sex, New York, NY, US
  • Daughters of Penelope, Dovecot Gallery, Edinburgh, GB
  • Narrative Horizons, The Galleries at Moore College of Art & Design, Philadelphia, PA, US
  • Confabulations of Millennia, Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine
  • College of Art, Portland, ME, US
  • Here and Now, The Holburne Museum, Bath, GB
  • Feminine Product, The Void Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, US
  • CON-Figuration, Postmasters, New York, NY, US
  • 2016
    Winter Group Exhibition, P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York, NY, US
  • Winter Group Exhibition, Brilliant Champions, Brooklyn, NY, US
  • Winter Group Exhibition, Athen B. Gallery, Oakland, CA, US
  • Juxtapoz x Superflat, Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, BC, CA
  • Fertile Solitude, Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA, US
  • Juxtapoz x Superflat, Pivot Art + Culture, Seattle, WA, US
  • You Can Call Me Baby, SPRING/BREAK Art Show, New York, NY, US
  • Here and Now, The National Center for Craft & Design, Lincolnshire, GB
  • 2015
    KITH: HOMAGE, Miami Beach, FL, US
  • Miami Project, Hashimoto Contemporary, Miami Beach, FL, US
  • Soft Core, Fosdick-Nelson Gallery, Alfred University, Alfred, NY, US
  • Know You Know, Kinfolk, Brooklyn, NY, US
  • Summer Show, Hashimoto Contemporary, San Francisco, CA, US
  • Scenic Route, Paradigm Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
  • Data Flow: Digital Influence, Town Hall Gallery, Hawthorn, VIC, AU
  • 2014
    Narcissism and The Self Portrait, Ann Street Gallery, Newburgh, NY , US
  • December Exhibition, Galerie Wolfsen, Aalborg, DK
  • Summer Mixer, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY, US
  • Invitational Small Works, Textile Arts Center, Brooklyn, NY, US
  • Reality Loop, VEST Gallery, Aarhus, DK
  • Competition Team, Eric Schindler Gallery, Richmond, VA, US
Fairs
  • 2022
    Art Basel Miami Beach Meridians, questions & answers (Solo), P.P.O.W. Gallery, Miami, FL, US
  • 2021
    Art Basel Art Fair, P.P.O.W. Gallery, Miami, FL, US
  • Art Basel Art Fair, P.P.O.W. Gallery, Basel, CH
  • 2020
    Frieze London, P.P.O.W. Gallery, London, GB
  • Felix Art Fair, P.P.O.W. Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, US
  • 2019
    Art Basel Art Fair, P.P.O.W. Gallery, Miami, FL, US
  • Frieze London, P.P.O.W. Gallery, London, GB
  • 2018
    Art Basel Art Fair, P.P.O.W. Gallery, Miami, FL, US
  • The Armory Show, P.P.O.W. Gallery, New York, NY, US
  • 2016
    Frieze London, P.P.O.W. Gallery, London, GB
Biennials
  • 2022
    Manifesto of fragility, curated by Sam Bardaouil and Till Fellrath, Biennale de Lyon, Lyon, FR
Residencies
  • 2022
    The Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program 22-23, New York, NY, US
  • Open Studio Residency, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Deer Isle, ME, US
  • 2021
    Alumni Artist-in-Residence, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, NE, US
  • 2019
    Dieu Donné, Brooklyn, NY, US
  • 2018
    The Corporation of Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY, US
  • The MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH, US
  • 2015
    Museum of Art and Design Artist Studios, New York, NY, US
  • 2012
    Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA, US
  • Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, NE, US
  • 2011
    Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT, US
  • McColl Center for Visual Art, Charlotte, NC, US
  • 2010
    The MacDowell Colony, Peterborough, NH, US
  • Emmanuel College, Boston, MA, US
Awards
  • 2021
    Finalist, Burke Prize 2021, MAD Museum, New York, NY, US
  • American Academy of Arts and Letters, Art Purchase Prize Winner, New York, NY, US
  • United States Artists Fellowship Grant, Chicago, IL, US
  • 2012
    Ruth and Harold Chenven Foundation Grant, New York, NY, US
  • 2011
    Vermont Studio Center Artist-in-Residence Full Fellowship, Johnson, VT, US
  • Kittredge Foundation Grant Recipient, Cambridge, MA, US
  • 2009
    Best in Show, Radius 250, Artspace, Richmond, VA, US
  • Project Completion Grant, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA, US
  • 2008
    Graduate Academic Tuition Assistantship, Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, PA, US
  • 2007
    Graduate Academic Tuition Assistantship, Tyler School of Art, Elkins Park, PA, US
  • Marilyn Pappas Award, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA, US
  • 2006
    Barbara L. Kuhlman Foundation, Inc. Fiber Scholarship, Willet, NY, US
  • 2005
    Barbara L. Kuhlman Foundation, Inc. Fiber Scholarship, Willet, NY, US
Collections
  • The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, US
Education
  • 2009
    MFA, Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, PA, US
  • 2007
    BFA, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston, MA, US
cadet capela
Erin M. Riley
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