The enchanting yet eerie ceramic sculptures of San Francisco based artist Erika Sanada were first featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 31. In that feature, we included works from her previous showing at Modern Eden Gallery, “Odd Things”, where the artist touched upon themes of newborn innocence and death. She returns to the gallery on August 15th with an uplifting new series, “Fighting Spirit”. In our recent studio visit with Sanada, she shared with us the personal inspiration behind the series where she seeks to defeat her own anxiety. It is a constant struggle that she fights to overcome through the healing process of creating her artwork. Her sculptures portray zombified puppies in more positive displays; at play with their fellow pups and small birds and mice, and in more macabre works, their own hearts. Horned puppies are a new addition, where the artist offers them a defense against whatever negative force they might encounter. Working with a fresh combination of beauty and strength, Sanada’s new work conveys more depth in her characters and storytelling than before.
In 
Using resin, plastic, synthetic hair and a variety of other media, 
Whether rendered life-sized in resin and paint or smaller and 3D-printed, 
Sicily, Italy based artist