Eric Yahnker (b. 1976, Torrance, CA) is a Los Angeles-based artist working primarily in sculpture and drawings. After studying journalism at USC, Yahnker went on to the California Institute of the Arts where he received his BFA in animation. He then proceeded to work on animation for media properties including Seinfeld, South Park, and MADtv. Since 2008, Yahkner has been featured in solo shows including a 2011 show at Kunsthalle L.A., in addition to participating in group shows at Anna Kustera, Ambach & Rice, and Guerro Gallery. His work has been reviewed in The New York Times, New York Magazine, W Magazine, i-D, and Artforum.com, among others. The Hole is excited to feature Yahnker in his first NY solo show, Virgin Birth N’ Turf.
Taking his dry wit and humor with him into his career in the art world, Yahnker goes to work on the United States’ obsession with pop cultural consumption. Yahnker desecrates Mother Theresa by depicting her smoking a blunt, makes swastikas seem like whimsical children’s toys, and transforms Amy Winehouse’s head into a self-referential part of her lyrics. Yet Yahnker remains hopeful; saying in a recent interview, “Humor certainly allows one to amplify truths, but I’m not necessarily frustrated with modern day America. [As] a student of history, I realize even the worst of times will eventually achieve balance.”
ERIC YAHNKER
b. 1976 Torrance, CA
Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA
EDUCATION
2000 BFA Animation, California Institute of the Arts, Los Angeles, CA
1996 Journalism, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2012
Virgin Birth n’Turf, The Hole, New York, NY
Party Sub/Sub Party, The Armory Show, New York, NY, Ambach & Rice
2011
Cracks of Dawn, Ambach &Rice @ Kunsthalle L.A., Chinatown, Los Angeles, CA
2010
Nervous Surf, Galerie Jeanroch Dard, Paris, France
2009
Naughty Teens/Garbanzo Beans, Ambach & Rice, Seattle, WA
2008
Piano Man (For Guitar), Jack the Pelican Presents, Brooklyn, NY
Dolly Parton Behind A Tree, Kim Light Gallery (project room), Los Angeles, CA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2012
Portrait of a Generation, The Hole NYC, New York, NY
Breadbox, ZieherSmith@Icon Building, Nashville, TN
Body Snatchers, White Box, New York, NY (curated by Raul Zamudio)
Visible, Harris Art Gallery, University of La Verne (curated by Dion Johnson)
The Right Wrong, Greene Exhibitions, Culver City, CA
Facial Expressionism: Immanence Envisaged, Cerritos College, Norwalk, CA (curated by James MacDevitt)
2011
Will be home…, Ambach & Rice, Los Angeles, CA
B-B-B-Bad, Anna Kustera, New York, NY (feat. Paul McCarthy, John Waters, John Wayne Gacy & more)
Telephone, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA
FACEMAKER, Royal-T, Los Angeles, CA (curated by Kathy Grayson)
Nothing To Say, Guerrero Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2010
Gray Day, Roberts & Tilton, Culver City, CA (curated by Noah Davis)
Suspension of Disbelief, Other Gallery, Shanghai, China (curated by Raul Zamudio)
Playboys & Killjoys, Ambach & Rice, Seattle, WA (feat. Erwin Wurm, Raymond Pettibon)
Meer/More, Voorkamer, Lier, Belgium
The Power of Selection, Pt.3, Western Exhibitions, Chicago, IL
Session_12_Words + Untitled, Four Boxes Gallery, Skive, Denmark
The Weight of the Words, Stuffinablank.com, online exhibition (curated by Pedro Torres)
Instant L.A. Summer, Carmichael Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
UNCOVER, DISCOVER, DISCARD, Golden Age, Chicago, IL (curated by Jessica Minckley)
Sonny Smith: 100 Records, Gallery 16, San Francisco, CA (traveled to: Okay Mtn. Gallery, Austin, TX/
Cinders Gallery, Brooklyn, NY/ False Front Gallery, Portland, OR)
Bushwick Schlacht!, Fortress to Solitude, Brooklyn, NY
Inaugural Exhibition, Guerrero Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Fuckheads, Kinkead Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA (curated by Angela Dufresne)
Paper! Awesome!, Baer Ridgway Gallery, San Francisco, CA (curated by Brion Nuda Rosch)
Riders, Galerie Polad-Hardouin, Paris, France
The Power of Selection, Pt.1, Western Exhibitons, Chicago, IL (curated by Ryan Travis Christian)
2009
Baker’s Dozen, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA
Session_7_Words, Am Nuden Da, London, England
Ulli and Lucrecia’s Lustige Gruppenausstellung Mit Party, 533 Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Interrobang, Space Gallery, Portland, ME
Beautiful/Decay: A to Z, Kopeikin Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
control c, control v, eberb9, Chicago, IL
The Haunted House Show, Colin Roberts’ Studio, Los Angeles, CA
No Right Beast, Women’s Building, Los Angeles, CA
2008
L.A. Potential, HangART-7, Salzburg, Austria (curated by Hubert Schmalix, Roger Herman)
Found/Gevonden/Trouve, Voorkamer, Lier, Belgium
Group Show Without Andre Butzer, Women’s Building, Los Angeles, CA
SELECTED PRESS
The New York Times, September 6, 2012
Artforum Critic’s Pick, 2011
iD Magazine, Interview, March 2012