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alex ehmer



image courtesy the artist

Alex Ehmer (B. San Francisco, CA) is a mixed-media artist whose practice intertwines material experimentation with investigations into non-traditional objects and forms. Working primarily with latex, wax, clay, and sourced or discarded materials, Ehmer draws from concepts of the readymade to challenge conventional distinctions of what is considered art. Informed by psychological, medical, and sociological frameworks, the work navigates intersections of personal memory and dialogue, using material to examine how lived experience is constructed, processed, and externalized. Central to Ehmer’s practice are themes of discardment, repair, and recovery, explored through processes that evoke both care and damage. Clinical aesthetics and material transformations situate the work within a space where bodily experience and institutional commentary overlap, raising questions of vulnerability, control, and preservation. Viewer engagement plays a key role, often incorporating participatory or time-based elements that unfold through interaction or observation, implicating audiences in processes that may elicit discomfort, curiosity, or hesitation.

In the body of work Candles, these ideas are explored through candle-based sculptures and wall works in which wax is shaped into various forms and activated through ignition. As the pieces burn, they transform through controlled processes, making time an active component of the work. Fire operates simultaneously as material and metaphor— associated with warmth, survival, destruction, and ritual, while the familiar format of the candle suggests containment or safety. Ehmer introduces tension between comfort and unease through precariously placed wicks and structures that rely on flame, with some works designed to bleed using pigmented wax or simulated blood, evoking bodily associations. Medical equipment such as IV stands, surgical trays, and hooks function as structural elements, referencing environments where bodies are monitored, treated, deconstructed, and reconstructed. Within this context, wax and its transformations suggest both wound and procedure, reinforcing tensions between care and violence, control and vulnerability, and prompting reflection on bodily fragility, institutional authority, and the role of consent and agency in navigating these charged interactions.

Ehmer graduated from SFAI with a BFA in printmaking in 2019. From 2017-2019, they were the Director of the historical SFAI Staircase Gallery hosting monthly BFA and MFA showcases. Ehmer have a freelance curatorial practice working as an arts administrator alongside various institutions and local galleries in the Bay Area such as 500 Capp Street, 127010 Gallery, Burnt Oak Gallery, and Minnesota Street Projects. Ehmer has shown in various institutions including 500 Capp Street, MRKT Gallery, Bass and Reiner, Goodmother Studio Gallery, and Parts Peculiar Gallery. Ehmer lives and works in San Francisco, CA.

Education
2027 Masters of Fine Arts, California College of the Arts (forthcoming)
2020 Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking, San Francisco Art Institute, CA

Residencies
2023 MRKT Studio 2, MRKT Gallery, San Francisco, CA

Awards
 2020 Recognition Award, Printmaking Department, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
BFA Exhibition, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA

Exhibitions
2026 
Everything Must Go! SFArts Education Project, San Francisco, CA (fourthcoming)
Grad Lab, Minnesota Street Projects, San Francisco, CA (forthcoming)
Beyond Barriers, PLAYSpace Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Generations of Touch, PLAYSpace Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2025 
Jordan Almonds, Studio 22 at California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA
Modern Pleasure, 127010 Gallery, San Francisco, CA
CHUCKY, Good Mother Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Joy of Saturn, Parts Peculiar, San Francisco, CA
2024 
Foul Odor, Upper Market Gallery, San Francisco,CA
500 Capp Street Fundraiser, San Francisco, CA
Seeds Before they Bloom, 447 Minna Street Gallery, San Francisco, CA
ROOM, Mini Mart, San Francisco, CA
2023 
Where is all the Antimatter? Kate Rose Collective, Oakland, CA
Dude, Where’s my School?, 120710 Gallery, Berkeley, CA
MRKT Studio 2 Exhibition, MRKT Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Pyramid Scheme,Bass and Reiner, San Francisco, CA
2022 Parallel Play, Burnt Oak Gallery, San Francisco, CA
SFAI BFA Showcase: The Fountain, Virtual Exhibition, San Francisco, CA
MUSA Exhibition, Oakland, CA
2020 
SFAI BFA Showcase: The Fountain, Virtual Exhibition, San Francisco, CA
MUSA Exhibition, Oakland, CA
Unraveled, Fleetwood, San Francisco, CA
2019 
BFA Showcase, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Japan town Holiday Sale, Japan town Peace Plaza, San Francisco, CA
BFA Graduation, Print Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Vendors Mart, Infinity, Walnut Creek, CA
The Art of Failure, SFAI Print Gallery, San Francisco, CA
SFAI Concentrate, SFAI Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA
100 Under 100, Fleetwood, San Francisco, CA
SFAI Ramp Gallery Opening, San Francisco, CA
Opps, It Broke! SFAI Ramp Gallery, San Francisco, CA
New Genres Salon, Studio 10, San Francisco, CA
Zine Mart, Fleetwood, San Francisco, 
CA Open Book Show 6, Arion Press, San Francisco, CA
UNTITLED, SFAI Print Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Zine Fest, Everyday Skate, San Francisco, CA
BOTH., SFAI Print Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Brink, Studio 10, San Francisco CA
2018 
100 Under 100 Fleetwood, San Francisco, CA
Open Book Show 5, Root Division, San Francisco, CA
East Bay Zine Fest, Wolfman books, Oakland, CA
Really Big Print show, SFAI Print Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Got It for Cheap, Pt. 2 Gallery, Oakland Ca (worldwide traveling show from 2018- Present)
The Invitation to Forget you is One I Must Decline, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Zine Mart, Fleetwood, San Francisco, CA
Happy Birthday, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Some Shape or Form, Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco, CA
SFAI Concentrate, SFAI Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA
2017 
Art Party 4, San Pablo AVE, Oakland, CA
Everyone I Know, Revolution Cafe, Oakland, CA
SFAI Concentrate, SFAI Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA
100 Under 100, Fleetwood, San Francisco, CA


Selected Works