Lily Erb

Lily Erb is a queer maker living in Kansas City, MO. Lily received her BFA from Hampshire College in Sculpture and Printmaking in 2013 and their MFA from Ohio University in Sculpture + Extended Practice in 2022. Lily spent the first eight years of her creative career working almost exclusively with steel after signing up for a welding class in college and falling in love with welding. They have been focusing on creating soft sculpture after a discovered love of sewing while in residence at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in the fall of 2018. Other residencies Lily attended are Yellow Bird Art Park, Wabi Sabi Thrift Store, and Paducah A.I.R. Public art pieces include, decorative panels for The Paramount, Vita Nova, Tastings, and Splendora’s as well as Extended Chaos in Paducah, KY and Clothing Rack Bike Rack in Moab, UT.

As I explore community dynamics in a time of societal reimaging, I am interested in points of friction in unequal power relationships.  I am an avid reader of science fiction – the descriptions of invented flora and fauna inspire me aesthetically while the exploration of social systems at the center of Sci-Fi narratives inspire me conceptually. My work is a series of investigations into human tendencies through arrangements of creatures, land formations, flowers, greenery, and fruits enlivened by performance.