AIR: Erykah Townsend
Artist-in-residence
Jul 5-Nov 30, 2022
Left: Erykah Townsend; Right: Erykah Townsend, McFurbys, 2021. Acrylic, oil pastels, furbys, crylic sheet, fabric, Poly-fil, wood, 44 x 40 in. (111.76 x 101.6 cm). Courtesy the artist
Erykah Townsend, also known as E.T., is a multimedia conceptual artist from Cleveland, Ohio. Her paintings and objects are heavily influenced by pop culture. She quotes, “I use pop culture as a medium itself—exploring the spaces it fills in our lives and the inquiry of how real are the imaginary.” Her reflective and humorous narratives are interpretations of personal experiences, comments on consumerism and art history. Characters, icons, and objects depicted in her work play as avatars of her allegories and criticism, while they retain aspects of their original source. Townsend embodies her phrase “Substantially Inconsistent,” as she routinely explores different styles within the series in her practice, sustaining her urge to keep evolving. Laboriously inspired by the miscellaneous body of work by Andy Warhol, she embraces different media and visual depictions. Townsend received her BFA in painting from The Cleveland Institute of Art in 2020. Her work has been exhibited in the Akron Art Museum and Newsense Gallery in Cleveland.
Find out more about Erykah Townsend at milkcrate.studio.
The AIR program is generously sponsored by Margaret Cohen and Kevin Rahilly, with additional support from Char and Chuck Fowler.
About moCa AIR:
Developed to support and highlight the work of emerging or early-career artists in Cuyahoga County, moCa AIR allows the museum to work alongside artists through 5-month, long-form onsite engagements.
Artists-in-residence receive an honorarium, program support, a dedicated studio space inside the museum, professional development opportunities, access to the museum’s production studios, and administrative support. During their time in residence, each artist will develop a site-specific project that activates a site in the building outside of the traditional gallery spaces with production funds provided by moCa.