In Erika Sanada’s “Cover My Eyes,” running through July 30 at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco, viewers find a new batch of ceramic sculptures from the Japanese artist. Sanada’s “dogs” typically feature at least one physical mutation and represent ongoing anxieties in the artist’s life. She explains the addition of new animals this time around: “The rats and birds present with the dogs are further extensions of myself and my fears. Birds, like my anxieties, are difficult to contain and control, and are always a part of me and my work.” The artist was featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 31.
Sanada, a Tokyo native, had her first solo show at the same gallery in 2013. Her creatures have frequently balanced the creepy and the adorable. She last appeared on HiFructose.com here, a look at the artist’s newer explorations of color. A studio visit from last year, which can be found here, offers some insight into her process, from sketchpad to sculpture. Find the artist on Instagram here.
Sanada attended Nihon University College of Art in Tokyo, graduating in 2009. She then moved on to work as a makeup artist at a film studio and work as a commercial illustrator before relocating to San Francisco. Even today, her creations have a cinematic quality.
In Tanzania, people born with Albinism (a rare condition, in which a person lacks the pigment that gives skin, hair and eyes color) are believed to be ghosts or bad omens. However, their body parts are highly prized by Shamans, who use arms and legs, genitalia and blood, to make potions intended to bring wealth and good luck. Artist 
Inside a Charlotte studio, a hundred faces peer in different directions. These are the unsettling, yet engrossing sculptures of 