Collection: Erika Sanada and Calvin Ma - Bond

Bond is a tribute to over a decade of shared life and an interwoven artistic practice between Erika Sanada and Calvin Ma. Although their ceramic sculptural styles are distinctly different, the artists have worked side-by-side, supporting each other and fostering a creative dialogue.

Opening reception: Saturday, November 22nd, 5 - 8 pm. This is a free event.

This exhibition will run from Nov 23rd - Dec 14th, 2025, and will coincide with Miho Hirano's The Beauties of Nature, Dewi Plass's Comfort Zone and Samuel Farnham's Propagules.

Sanada and Ma's continuous relationship has infused their individual works with a shared quality. Placing their sculptures together in the gallery, just as the artists have been in life, reveals the deep connection and mutual influence that defines their bond. This exhibition invites viewers to discover the common threads that unify their separate sculptural presences.

Erika Sanada is a California-based ceramic artist known for her ethereal sculptures of fantastical, hybrid creatures. Drawing inspiration from horror films, the supernatural, and her own personal anxieties, Sanada crafts hairless, pastel-hued animals that feel at once sweet and unsettling.  Identifying as a ‘deeply anxious soul’, Sanada’s work explores emotional vulnerability, inner tension, and the complexities of fear, giving form to the darker aspects of her imagination in a way that is both tender and uncanny. Originally from Japan, Sanada earned a BA in communications and design from Nihon University College of Art and later received her MFA from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

Calvin Ma is a ceramic artist whose work transforms the action figure form into a vehicle for storytelling, personal reflection, and emotional expression. Drawing from childhood memories and his ongoing experience with social anxiety, Ma creates intricate, detailed figures that blend human and animal features, often capturing moments of stillness, balance, or playful tension.  Deeply rooted in a sense of childlike imagination, Ma’s sculptures convey a quiet resilience and the artist’s search for comfort within vulnerability. Ma holds an MFA in Sculpture from the Academy of Art University and a BA in Industrial Arts from San Francisco State University.