Resume
Bio
Lisa Espenmiller, poet and visual artist, has exhibited in solo, two-person and group shows throughout the Bay Area. Her drawings and paintings were most recently exhibited by UpstArt Modern (2022 & 2020) for Resilience, and Works of Wisdom in Mill Valley, and selected by Griff Williams of Gallery 16 for the group show Some Speechless Thing, Berkeley Art Center (2020). She has been juried into numerous Bay Area exhibitions including MFA NEVER, Root Division (2016), Summer National, Marin MOCA (2016), Outlandish: Contemporary Depictions of Nature, Bedford Gallery (2011) and Hello Tomorrow, David Brower Center (2011). Espenmiller’s art was presented by Chandra Cerrito Contemporary in 2014 and 2015 at San Francisco artMRKT. Her paintings and drawings can be found in the public collections of Hanover Pagemill, Neiman-Marcus, and California Pacific Medical Center, and numerous private collections. Espenmiller received the Juror’s Award of Merit by Lucinda Barnes, Sr. Curator, Berkeley Art Museum for the 2013 Left Coast Annual at the Sanchez Art Center. More than one hundred of her haiku and senryu have been published in domestic and international poetry journals. She was awarded a poetry residency at the highly-regarded Community of Writers in Squaw Valley, CA (1995). She holds a degree in Political Science, and studied art at U.C. Berkeley and California College of the Arts. Espenmiller lives and works in Oakland, California.
Exhibitions
Solo | Two-Person Shows:
2020
Works of Wisdom, The Hivery, Mill Valley CA
2015
On the Line, Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, Oakland, CA
2013
the moment at hand, Marion & Rose's Workshop, Oakland, CA
Selected Group Shows:
2022
Resilience | A Visual Proclamation, Upstart Modern | Sausalito, CA
2020
Some Speechless Thing, Berkeley Art Center | Berkeley, CA (Juror: Griff Williams, Director Gallery 16, San Francisco)
2020 Member Show, Berkeley Art Center | Berkeley, CA
2016
Artist's Annual, Kala Art Institute | Berkeley, CA
Collect, Berkeley Art Center | Berkeley, CA
Summer National Juried Exhibition, Marin MOCA | Novato, CA (Juror: Brian Gross, Director Brian Gross Fine Art, San Francisco)
MFA NEVER, Root Division | San Francisco, CA (Jurors: Rhiannon Evans MacFayden, Donna Napper, Brion Nuda Rosch)
2015
Objects of Contemplation, Chandra Cerrito Contemporary | Oakland, CA
Connect & Collect, Annual Art Exhibit & Auction, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art | San Jose, CA
Annual Art Exhibit & Auction, Oakland Art Murmur | Oakland, CA
artMRKT, Art Fair, Chandra Cerrito Contemporary | San Francisco, CA
2014
Connect & Collect, Annual Art Exhibit & Auction, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art | San Jose, CA
artMRKT, Art Fair, Chandra Cerrito Contemporary | San Francisco, CA
2013
Aftermath: Post Minimal Abstraction, Chandra Cerrito Contemporary | Oakland, CA
Transmissions, Marin Community Foundation | Novato, CA (Curator: Patricia Watts)
Left Coast Annual, Sanchez Art Center | Pacifica, CA (Juror: Lucinda Barnes, Sr. Curator, Berkeley Art Museum)
Kala-fornia: State of the Art 3, Kala Art Institute | Berkeley, CA
2012
Cumulous, Chandra Cerrito Contemporary | Oakland, CA
2011
Outlandish: Contemporary Depictions of Nature, Bedford Gallery | Walnut Creek, CA (Juror: Allison Gass, SF MOMA)
Hello Tomorrow, David Brower Center | Berkeley, CA (Jurors: Lucinda Barnes, Berkeley Art Museum; DeWitt Cheng, art writer; Amy Tobin, David Brower Center)
Fresh Works, Harrington Gallery | Pleasanton, CA (Juror: William Rushton, artist)
2010
Green, Berkeley Art Center | Berkeley, CA
Big Deal, Visual Aid's Live Art Auction | San Francisco, CA
Root Division’s 9th Annual Auction, Root Division | San Francisco, CA
Juried@BAC, Berkeley Art Center | Berkeley, CA (Jurors: Carrie Lederer, Bedford Gallery; Lauren Davies, Kala Institute)
Collect!, Berkeley Art Center | Berkeley, CA
Client Appreciation Show | The Warehouse Gallery, Oakland, CA
2009
Red, Berkeley Art Center | Berkeley, CA
Gallery / Art Advisory Representation
Upstart Modern, Art Advisory, Sausalito, CA (2019 - 2022)
Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, Gallery, Oakland CA (2012-2017)
Grants | Awards | Public Lectures
2022 - Selected by a panel of arts professionals for inclusion in The Catalog, an artist catalog produced by and for the Santa Fe Gallery Association and its’ extensive gallery membership, Santa Fe, NM
2016 - Featured artist for April, 2016 online at The Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
2015 - Artist Lecture, The Taoist Center, Oakland, CA
2013 - Juror's Award of Merit, Left Coast Annual, Pacifica, CA (Juror: Lucinda Barnes, Sr. Curator, Berkeley Art Museum)
2010 - Creative Capacity Fund Quick Grant, Center for Cultural Innovation, San Francisco, CA
Public Commissions & Collections
Hanover Page Mill, Palo Alto, CA
Northeast Medical Services, San Francisco, CA
California Pacific Medical Center - Davies Campus, San Francisco, CA
Neiman Marcus: Chicago, IL | Dallas, TX | Walnut Creek, CA
Residencies
1995 - Squaw Valley Community of Writers - Poetry Residency, Squaw Valley, CA
Bibliography & Press
Martinique, Elena. Marjorie Salvaterra and Lisa Espenmiller Join Artistic Forces. WideWalls Magazine, December 11, 2019
Levy, Dr. Mark. Saying Light, Saying Dark, the Art of Lisa Espenmiller. Essay, 2018
ArtSource Consulting. Afternoon in Oakland. ArtSource Consulting blog, April 7, 2015
Baker, Kenneth. Bay Area Visual Art Picks - Nov. 21 - 24. SFgate.com, November 20, 2013
Grant Kriege, Nicole. "the moment at hand" Q&A with the artist. Marion & Rose's Workshop Blog, April 24, 2013
Flood, Greg. Report from the Oakland Art Murmur, Sept. 2012 - Part 1. Examiner.com, September 17, 2012 (pdf. version)
Goldeen, Dorothy. Curating a Collection for Neiman Marcus Walnut Creek. NM DAILY, March 6 2012
Cheng, Dewitt. A Panoramic View at Bedford Gallery. EAST BAY EXPRESS, August 10-16, 2011 (p.22)
Cheng, Dewitt. Imagineering at David Brower Center: Don't Stop Thinking about Tomorrow Again. EAST BAY EXPRESS, June 29 - July 5, 2011 (p. 22)
Cheng, Dewitt. Bumper Crop at Berkeley Art Center: The Gallery Showcases a Bevy of Local Talent. EAST BAY EXPRESS, September 22-28, 2010. (p. 22)
Publication
Haiku and short poems published in Modern Haiku, NOON, Presence (UK), is/let, Bones: Journal for Contemporary Haiku (Denmark), Akitsu Quarterly, Mariposa, tsuri-dōrō, bottle rockets, Wales Haiku (Wales), Chrysanthemum (Germany), #FemkuMag, Otata, Under the Bashō, moongarlic, Wild Plum, Issa’s Untidy Hut, The Haiku Foundation Per Diem, Lilliput Review, and DMQ Review.
Education
2013, 2009 - California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA (Extended Education)
2010 - University of California, Berkeley, CA (Extended Education)
1985 - B.A. Political Science, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo