Erica Harney is a scenic painter and educator based in the Philadelphia area, where she has held a range of roles in teaching and working in art museums and galleries. She received her BFA in Drawing and Painting from Alfred University in 2006 and obtained her MFA in Drawing and Painting from Penn State University in 2010. She also studied at Santa Reparta International School of Art in Italy. Central to her career has been her work in creating scenic displays for theatre, ballet, opera, and film, which has been featured with notable partners such as Mare of Easttown on HBO and Opera Philadelphia.
Since the pandemic, Erica has primarily focused on her personal artistic practice, creating pieces centered on landscapes and architecture. She draws inspiration from her experiences traveling throughout the United States and her background in theatrical set painting. After completing her “Houses of Lansdowne” series – featuring watercolor sketches of houses in her neighborhood- she expanded this work into a full-time business where she paints custom houses and landscapes for others. Erica Harney’s work has been featured in galleries and exhibitions both nationally and internationally. Through her impressive body of work, Erica Harney has established herself as a versatile artist with a dynamic range across fine art and large-scale designs.
Artist Statement
I incorporate scrap materials from my “day job,” painting murals and large-scale backdrops and scenery (for television, theatre, museums, cruise ships, parades, retail displays etc.) to make colorful, inventive, post-human paintings and collages. Working in the entertainment and production industries keeps me acutely aware of the colossal amount of waste they create, and I often salvage materials such as scrap lumber, muslin, and offcuts from CNC routers that would ultimately end up in dumpsters. When painting, I use leftover scenic and mural paint to ground my canvases, and my color palettes are inspired by used stir-sticks that I have been hoarding for years. I even peel the dried paint from the inside of my five-gallon mixing buckets: these “paint skins,” as I think of them, are truly beautiful as objects in and of themselves and have been the basis for hundreds of collages in an ongoing series.
New Brunswick Art Salon 2026 – Oil and Mixed Media “Pigmented Perceptions” Exhibition
Education
2010 MFA, Pennsylvania State University. University Park, PA
2006 BFA Magna Cum Laude with Divisional Honors, Alfred University. Alfred, NY
Minor: Art History with Divisional Honors
2005 Santa Reparata International School of Art. Florence, Italy (study abroad)
Honors, Awards, and Residencies
2025
Grant Recipient. Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance COVID-19 Relief
2024
Semifinalist. Swarthmore Co-op Mural: Swarthmore, PA
2023
Winner. Upper Darby Township Controller Box Art Contest: Upper Darby, PA
2016
Microgrant Recipient. Blick Art Materials
2014
Residency. Artscape Gibraltar Point, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
2013
Award. Most Original Conceptual Approach, Coupling Exhibition. Off the Wall Gallery @ Dirty Frank’s, Philadelphia, PA
2012
Completed the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Training Program, Philadelphia, PA
2011
Residency. Weir Farm Art Alliance, Wilton, CT
Residency. Palazzo Rinaldi Artist Residency, Noepoli, Basilicata, Italy
Grant. Christos N. Apostle Charitable Trust, Troy, NY
2010
Pennsylvania State University Travel Opportunity Grant for solo exhibition in County Kilkenny, Ireland
2009
Dedalus Foundation Grant Nominee
2008
Pennsylvania State University College of Art & Architecture Research Opportunity Grant, University Park, PA
Pennsylvania State University School of Visual Arts Research Opportunity Grant, University Park, PA
Pennsylvania State University School of Visual Arts Graduate Assistantship, University Park, PA
Pennsylvania State University Graham Endowed Fellowship, University Park, PA
Pennsylvania State University Fund for Excellence in Graduate Recruitment, University Park, PA
Residency and Partial Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
2006
Residency and Partial Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson VT
Daniel Joseph Murphy II Memorial Award for Creativity, Alfred, NY
Alfred University Student Innovation Award, Alfred, NY
Alfred University Marlin Miller Outstanding Senior Award Finalist, Alfred, NY
Teaching
Higher Education
2018-20 Adjunct Professor of Art, Alvernia University Philadelphia Center, Elkins Park, PA
2017-19 Adjunct Professor Art, Cecil College, North East, MD
2010-11 Visiting Instructor of Art, Pennsylvania State University School of Visual Arts, University Park, PA
2008-10 Graduate Lecturer of Art, Pennsylvania State University School of Visual Arts, University Park, PA
Non-Academic
2018-21 Community Arts Center, Wallingford, PA
2018-19 University City Arts League, Philadelphia, PA
Workshops: Cecil College North East, Delaware County Christian School. Steppingstone Farm Museum, Penn State Hershey College of Medicine, University City Arts League, Wallingford Community Arts Center
Exhibition History
Selected Solo/Duet Exhibitions
2026
(upcoming) Mary Liz Memorial Masters Exhibition: Erica Harney and Paul Smith, Off the Wall Gallery @ Dirty Frank’s, Philadelphia, PA
2025
Paint Skins, Black Moth Tattoo + Gallery, Ardmore, PA
2023
Houses of Lansdowne: An Artist’s Pandemic Project, Utility Works Kiosk Gallery, Lansdowne, PA
2020-21
Online Art Sale to Benefit Opera Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
2019
Erica Harney, Wallingford Community Arts Center, Wallingford, PA
2018
Handmade: Constructed Realties, Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY
The Alchemy of Color, The Palette & the Page, Elkton, MD
Romanticism and the Theatre of Everyday Living, Perrella Gallery @ Fulton Montgomery Community College, Johnstown, NY
2017
Romanticism and the Theatre of Everyday Living, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Red, Yellow, Green and Blue, Upstate Medical University Health Sciences Library, Syracuse,NY
Staged Concerns and Incidental Artifacts: Erica Harney and Remo, Boston St. Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2016
Home For the Summer, Uncommon Grounds, Saratoga Springs, NY
Mostly True Stories, The Grand Opera House, Wilmington, DE
2015
You Are A Story You Tell Yourself, Cecil College, Elkton, MD
Pennsylvania Landscapes, Balance Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2014
Girl From the North Country, Northville Public Library, Northville, NY
A Matter of Perception, Red Raven Art Company, Lancaster, PA
Impressions and Adornment: Erica Harney and Stacey Petersen, The Palette & the Page, Elkton, MD
Visiting Artist Exhibition, SUNY Fredonia, Fredonia, NY
2013
Erica Harney, Upstate Medical University Health Sciences Library, Syracuse, NY
2011
Here Comes the Sun, Greenpoint Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2010
Increased Security, Morrison Gallery, Penn State Harrisburg, Middletown, PA
2010
MFA Thesis Exhibition, Disquiet, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
2008
New American Painter, Estate Yard Gallery, Castlecomer, County Kilkenny, Ireland
2007
Debut, VARGA Gallery, Woodstock, NY
2006
BFA Thesis Exhibition, Alfred University: Alfred, NY (with Ada van Hecke)
Selected Group Exhibitions
2026
(upcoming, April) Title TBD, Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Philadelphia, PA
(upcoming, July): 25 Decades, Community Arts Center. Wallingford, PA
2025
Under 100. Off the Wall Gallery at Dirty Frank’s. Philadelphia, PA
Continuing the Narrative. Sophia Stef Gallery. Lambertville, NJ
Creative Women of Lansdowne. 20*20 House Gallery. Lansdowne, PA
Little Luxuries. Main Line Art Center. Haverford, PA
One Work, One Day. Sophia Stef Gallery. Lambertville, NJ
Creativity in Chaos. Off the Wall Gallery at Dirty Frank’s. Philadelphia, PA
AROUND. Community Arts Center. Wallingford, PA
How to Capture Carbon: Reverse Ekphrasis. Eremita Café. Philadelphia, PA
VIBRANCE. Aston Mills Art Center. Aston, PA
2024
National Collage Society 40th Annual Juried Exhibition: Meyerhoff Gallery @ Maryland Institute College of Art: Baltimore, MD
The Illusion of Reason and Time: Fishbowl Gallery, Seattle, WA
Materials Matter: Powell Lane Arts Center, Collingswood NJ
Water Ways, Wallingford Community Arts Center: Wallingford, PA
2023
Home, Madam Miter Custom Framing: Springfield, PA
2022
Under 100, Off the Wall Gallery @ Dirty Franks: Philadelphia, PA
It’s the Little Things, 20*20 House Gallery: Lansdowne, PA
Space to Dream. D&R Greenway Land Trust: Princeton, NJ
2021
Created in COVID. 20*20 House Gallery: Lansdowne, PA
The Feminine Face of Dreams, Myths and Terrors, Cecil College online exhibition. Elkton, MD
Home, Duke Gallery, Community Arts Center, Wallingford, PA
2020
Live.Love.Lansdowne, Lansdowne Arts Board, online exhibition. Lansdowne, PA
Hostile Terrain 94: Undocumented Migration Project. Hub-Robeson Gallery @ Penn State University, University Park, PA
Artists in the Time of Coronavirus, Part 45. Online exhibition hosted by TheArtBlog.org
Congruence. Online exhibition hosted by I Like Your Work. Juried by Bridgette Mayer
Vernal Longing, Online exhibition hosted by InLiquid Art+Design and Artsy
2019
12 x 12, Cecil College, Elkton, MD
Drawing on Talent, Alvernia University, Reading, PA (faculty exhibition)
Inside-Outside, 3rd Street Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Mural Arts Artists Exhibition, Thomas Eakins House, Philadelphia, PA
Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts: Images 2019, Schlow Centre Region Library, State College, PA
South Philly: Pretty and Gritty, DaVinci Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
Spotlight on Cecil College Fine Arts Faculty, Cecil College, Elkton, MD (faculty exhibition)
2018
smallWORKS 2 1⁄2, Garrison Art Center, Garrison NY
12 x 12, Cecil College, North East, MD
Delaware Dreams: Return to the River, D&R Greenway Land Trust, Princeton, NJ
Creative Women of Lansdowne, 20*20 House Gallery, Lansdowne, PA
Spotlight on Cecil College Fine Arts Faculty, Cecil College, Elkton, MD (faculty exhibition)
Illumination, The Palette & the Page, Elkton, MD
2017
12 x 12. Elkton Station Gallery @ Cecil College: Elkton, MD
#45: Artists Respond to the New Political Landscape, Iona College, New Rochelle, NY (Curator)
2016
Breaking Forward, Lacey & Phillips Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Philadelphia Open Studio Tour Featured Exhibition, City Hall Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Rambofest, Tellus 360. Lancaster, PA
Climate Disrupted, Firth and Wilson Transport Cycles, Philadelphia, PA
L’autoritratto: The Original Selfie, The Biddle Building, Philadelphia, PA (Curator)
Very Different Animals, Park Towne Place, Philadelphia, PA
2015
So.Varied: Erica Harney, Chuck Mahley and Michael Yoder. The Makery. State College, PA
I Live Here Now, GoggleWorks, Reading, PA
Childhood in Decline, Blank Canvas Gallery, New Hope, PA
2014
December Group Exhibition, Red Raven Art Company, Lancaster, PA
Autumn Invitational, Off-the-Wall Gallery @ Dirty Frank’s, Philadelphia, PA
2013
Coupling, Off-the-Wall Gallery @ Dirty Frank’s, Philadelphia, PA
Faculty Collections, HUB-Robeson Gallery, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Under the Rug, A Look at Institutional Dishonesty, Iona College, New Rochelle, NY (Curator)
2012
Apocalypse, BAU Gallery, Beacon, NY
ArtNude, James Oliver Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
America! University of Michigan Detroit Center, Work*Detroit, Detroit, MI
Animal Show, Pterodactyl Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2011
Double Vision, A Collaborative Experience, Iona College, New Rochelle, NY
Arttrazioni, Palazzo Rinaldi Artists’ Residence, Noepoli, Italy
Salon Show, Greenpoint Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2010
October and November Group Exhibitions, Gray Wall Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT
Faculty Exhibition, Zoller Gallery, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Art at the X, Xavier University Art Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
Unbound, Coleman Burke Gallery, New York, NY
First Growth, First Street Gallery, New York, NY
OH+5 2010: An Ohio Border Biennial, Dairy Barn Arts Center, Athens, OH
2009
When Push Comes to Shove, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Artobahn. Freight Street Gallery, Waterbury, CT.
Prequel, Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York, NY (catalogue)
Diverse Paths: Mid-Atlantic MFA Graduate Student Work, Crane Arts Center, Philadelphia, PA
Stone Canoe, Delavan Art Gallery, Syracuse, NY
Too Much Love… Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
2008
Small Works Exhibition. Mamaroneck Artists’ Guild, Larchmont, NY
Trees and Arches on Chapel, White Space Gallery, New Haven, CT
2006
Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better, Kathleen Cullen Fine Art Gallery, New York,NY
Selected Additional Exhibition Venues, 2012-2017
Murano Condominiums, Philadelphia, PA; Beacon Art Shortwave Gallery, Stone Harbor, NJ; JAG Modern, Philadelphia, PA; Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA; Balance Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Contact
Website: ericaharneyartist.com
Instagram: @erica_harney_artist
Facebook: Erica Harney, Artist