Erica Deeman*

Lot #1
Untitled 07 (Self Portrait), 2020
Cassius Obsidian clay, unique in a series
10.5 x 8.75 x 2.75 in.
Edition 1 of 3
Courtesy of the artist and Anthony Meier Fine Arts, San Francisco

About the Artwork

Forging a pathway between photography and sculpture, Erica Deeman (Headlands Artist in Residence ‘19) here turns the camera on herself for the first time—rendering black-and-white photographs into a series of unique, abstracted, hand-made self-portraits in clay with the aid of 3D-printing processes. The black clay sculpture reflects contrast and detail in its darkness, materializing a visible tension between time, technology, and creative technique. Deeman began refining this new process while in residence at Headlands in 2019—a period during which she was also commissioned by The New York Times to document artifacts from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture for The 1619 Project, deeply impacting her view of the artifact and the fraught relationship between past and contemporary depictions and ownership. Deeman’s work resides in the permanent collections of the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive; Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego; Museum of Contemporary Photography, Columbia College of Chicago; New Orleans Museum of Art; Pérez Art Museum Miami; and Pier 24 Photography, San Francisco.

Retail Value: $6,500