top of page

Artist Bio

San Francisco-based artist, Liz Hickok, works in an innovative creative style, mixing low and high tech to create immersive artworks that bring viewers into a whimsical and wondrous space. Using playful materials and intersecting photography, sculpture, video, and installation, Hickok makes art that intermingles science and nature. Her most recent projects use augmented reality and other interactive technologies, inviting her spectators to take a more personal approach to her art, and closing the gap between artist and viewer.

 

Hickok exhibits nationally and internationally; her work is included in such collections as the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Blue Shield of California, and Mills College Art Museum. Hickok’s series, Fugitive Topography: Cityscapes in Jell-O, attracted widespread media attention, receiving coverage in The New York Times, a feature on CBS's The Early Show, and NPR.

 

Hickok has developed photomurals for Facebook and Google’s San Francisco offices, as well as for UCSF and Sutter Hospitals. In 2019, she created a site-specific installation for the Surreal Sublime exhibition at the San Jose ICA, and had a large solo exhibition at the Longview Museum of Fine Arts in Longview, TX. In 2020, she was part of the Center of Photographic Art in Carmel’s 8x10 Fundraising Exhibition. She currently has an outdoor photomural on display in Palo Alto, CA which integrates three-dimensional layers of augmented reality video and sound. Liz’s most recent project was an interactive large-scale video projection for Palo Alto’s Code:ART2 festival in October 2021. In 2022, she will have a solo show at Chung Namont Gallery in Noe Valley, San Francisco.

Resume

 

Education

2005     MFA, Photography; Mills College, Oakland, CA

1997      BFA, Photography, Installation, Video; The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

1997      BA, Art History; Tufts University, Medford, MA

1995      Semester abroad; School for International Training, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Residencies

2018       Center for Arts, Design and Social Research, Spoleto, Italy

2012       ArtWorks Downtown and Dominican University, San Rafael, CA

2009      Kidspace at Mass MoCA, North Adams, MA

2008      Delaware Center for Contemporary Art, Wilmington, DE

               Headlands: Project Space, Sausalito, CA

               Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM

2007      Scottsdale Public Arts, Scottsdale, AZ

2006      Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA

  

Fellowships, Grants, and Awards

2021      Emerging Artist Award, CODAworx, Scottsdale, AZ

2019      First Finalist award in Photography, Salon at the Triton, Santa Clara, CA
2018
      First Place Award, SLICE Juried Exhibition, Pence Gallery, Davis, CA
2016
      Juror’s Choice Award, Artspan 2016 Exhibition, San Francisco, juried by Michelle Mansour, Root Division

2012      Guest Artist Fellowship, Dominican University, San Rafael, CA

2011       Awarded UCSF Mission Bay Hospital public art project, San Francisco, CA

2010      Juror’s Award, Strange Beauty, juried by Darren Ching and Debra Klomp Ching, Center for Fine Art Photography, Ft. Collins, CO

2009      Finalist, International Aesthetica Creative Works Competition, United Kingdom

2007      Food Network Award, Play With Your Food category (best use of food as medium)

               Pittsburg State University, First Prize, Dark-Light, juried by Joyce Tenneson, Pittsburg, KS

2005      Kala Art Institute Fellowship Award

2004      Mills College Graduate Research Grant

               Mills Alumni Scholarship for Art

2003      Mills College Graduate Research Grant

Public Art Programs and Murals

2023     The Metamorphosis and Memory of Flowers, interactive photo-based artwork with Phil Spitler for Sunnyvale Civic Center, Sunnyvale, CA                        Ripples in Time, Wall-based installation of lenticular photographs, Rengstorff Aquatic Center, Mountain View, CA (upcoming)
2022     Inflorescence, Large-scale, illuminated, interactive installation with Phil Spitler for Arts Los Altos, Los Altos, CA

2021      Luminous Growth, Large-scale, interactive, video projection for Code:ART2 Festival, Palo Alto, CA

              Cycles of Regeneration, Interactive augmented reality mural, Uplift Local Initiative with Palo Alto Public Art, 477 California Ave, Palo Alto, CA

2020     California Poppy Regeneration, an Art for Essential Workers project, with Facebook and 100 Days Action
              Three-part collaborative outdoor photo-mural, Market Street, San Francisco, CA

2019      First myth of inside and outside, Four-part photo-mural in museum windows, San Jose ICA, San Jose, CA

2018      View from Alcatraz, large photo-mural for Facebook headquarters, San Francisco, CA

2017      Semi-Finalist, Public Art project at Alameda County Information Technology Department

              Waterlines Window, Large Photo-Mural in museum windows, New Museum, Los Gatos, CA

              Wave Formation, Google San Francisco, Commissioned site-specific triptych, San Francisco, CA

2016      Walnut Creek Downtown Utility Box Project, Two vinyl-wrapped utility boxes, Walnut Creek, CA

2015      Preternatural, Large photo-mural in a vacant storefront, 3357 Downing Street, Denver, CO

2011       Jell-O Fence, Large photo series on UCSF Mission Bay Hospital construction fence, San Francisco, CA

2007      Scottsdale in Jell-O, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts with Scottsdale Public Art, Scottsdale, AZ

  

Solo Exhibitions

 

2022      Inflorescence and the Theory of Metamorphoses, Michael Warren Contemporary, Denver, CO

              Ground Waters, Chung 24 Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2021      Daydreams of Infinity, Michael Warren Contemporary, Denver, CO

2019      Intimate Immensity, Longview Museum, Longview TX 

2017      Experiments in Form and Fiction, Capsule Gallery, Houston TX (two-person exhibition)

2015      Ground Waters, Michael Warren Contemporary, Denver, CO

2012      Fugitive Topography, Bg ArtSite, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA

2011       Jiggling Geography, De Santos Gallery, Houston, TX

2007     San Francisco in Jell-OPittsburg State University Gallery, Pittsburg, KS

              Scottsdale in Jell-O, Scottsdale Public Art, Scottsdale, AZ

2006     Magnitude X, Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA

2005     Eye Candy, Triptych Gallery, Berkeley, CA

2003     Cuba Libre, Natick Community Gallery, Natick, MA

1996      120 seconds, BAG Gallery, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

  

Group Exhibitions

 

2023       8×10 Fundraising Exhibition, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA

                Root Division Annual Art Auction, San Francisco, CA
                Reno Art Show, Chung 24 Gallery, Reno, NV

                1890 Bryant Studios, ArtSource Consulting, Mills Building Lobby, San Francisco, CA

                Under Water, Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, CA

                Members' Juried Exhibition, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA

                Ambitious, Michael Warren Contemporary, Denver, CO 

2022      The Great Wave, Santa Clara University, Edward M. Dowd Art and Art History Building, Santa Clara, CA

               Crystal Realities to Artificial Intelligence, Dishman Art Museum, Beaumont, TX

               Landscape of Material and Mind, a SciArt Initiative exhibition at New York Hall of Science, Queens, NY

                FotoFest Biennial 2022: Fine Print Auction and Exhibition, The Whitehall Houston Hotel, Houston, TX 77002

2021       Into the Rearview Mirror: A Look Back at 2020, Lone Tree Arts Center, Lone Tree, CO
              Primary Colors 2020, New York Center for Photographic Art, juried by Ann Jastrab
               Art in the Time of Corona, New Museum of Los Gatos (NUMU), Los Gatos, CA

2020     Wall of Shame (Social Response Work), Michael Warren Contemporary, Denver, CO
               Reimagined Landscapes, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA  
               The Great Wave, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA

               8×10 Fundraising Exhibition, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA
2019      Surreal Sublime, San Jose ICA, San Jose, CA

              Salon at the Triton, Santa Clara, CA, juror Kevin Chen, First Finalist Award in Photography

2018      Bay Area Currents, Smith Anderson North/Photo Alliance, San Anselmo, CA

              Supernatural Urban, Peephole Cinema, San Francisco, CA

              SLICE Juried Exhibition, Pence Gallery, Davis, CA

              Water, PhotoPlace Gallery, Middlebury, VT, juried by Ann Jastrab

              Natural Systems, Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, Oakland, CA

              West Coast Artists, Michael Warren Contemporary, Denver, CO

2017      Waterlines, New Museum of Los Gatos, Los Gatos, CA

              Inner Nature, Gallery 1317, San Francisco, CA

              Detritus, San Jose ICA, San Jose, CA

2016     H2O, McLoughlin Gallery, San Francisco, CA

             The Alchemist, Root Division, San Francisco, CA

             Landscapes, The Center for Fine Art Photography, Ft. Collins, CO, juried by Natasha Egan, Director’s Honorable Mention

2015     Nourish, Napa Valley Museum, Napa, CA

             Re-Tratar, GuatePhoto Festival, Guatemala City, Guatemala

2014     City Streets, Urban Views of the Bay Area, Studio Gallery, San Francisco, CA

             Modern Pop, Gary Francis Fine Art, Alameda, CA

             Delicious, Studio Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2013     Moving Pictures, Brand 10 and X Art Space, Dallas, TX

             Alternative Process, City College Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA

             Parallax Views, San Jose ICA, San Jose, CA

             Food as Medium for Craft, Craft in America Study Center, Los Angeles, CA

2012     What's Big is Little/What's Little is Big, Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, PA

             A.D.D., Emerald Tablet with the Microclimate Collective, San Francisco, CA

             Color/ Light, San Francisco City Hall, San Francisco, CA

2011     Chain Letter, Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Los Angeles, CA

             Synthetic, Winston Wachter Fine Art, Seattle, WA

             Discoveries of the Meeting Place, RedLine, Denver, CO, and Centro de la Imagen, Mexico City, Mexico

             Reconstructed World, di Rosa, Napa, CA

             Shadowshop, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA

2010     You are Here, the Psychogeography of New York, Pratt Manhattan Gallery, New York, NY

             Strange Beauty, The Center for Fine Art Photography, Ft. Collins, CO

             Off the Map, Kirkland Art Center, Kirkland, WA

             Discoveries of the Meeting Place, FotoFest, Houston, TX

             There's No Place Like Here, Tower Gallery at SUNY Brockport, Brockport, NY

2009     You Art What You Eat, Kidspace at Mass MoCA, North Adams, MA

             Evolution of Print: Artists of Kala, Oakland Museum at the Oakland International Airport

2008     Luminous Communities, Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts, Wilmington, DE

             Forces of Nature, Limn Gallery, San Francisco, CA

             Structural Elements, 101 California Street Lobby, San Francisco, CA

             Crater Bay AreaSan Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA

             Close CallsHeadlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA

             Places Between, Diablo Valley College Art Gallery, Pleasant Hill, CA

2007     Strange Weather, David Cunningham Projects, San Francisco, CA

             C. T.-Urban Scanning, Ha'Kibbutz Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel

             Taste Art, Root Division, San Francisco, CA

2006     Cultivating CreativityYerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA

             Art Bar Exhibition, Ithaca Fine Chocolates, Ithaca, NY

             It's a Small World: Scale in Contemporary Photography, San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA

             Kala Fellowship Exhibition (Part 1), Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA

             Reconsidered Materials, Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA

             Dark-LightPittsburg State University Gallery, Pittsburg, KS

2005     CoCA Annual, Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, WA

              Mayhem, Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA

              Mapping, Arts and Literature Laboratory, New Haven, CT

              AFFAIR @ the Jupiter Hotel, Alysia Duckler Gallery, Portland, OR

              Fall Show, Alysia Duckler Gallery, Portland, OR

              New California Masters, WORKS/San Jose, San Jose, CA

              MFA Thesis Exhibition, Mills College Art Museum, Mills College, Oakland, CA

2004     The Relevance of Observation, Warner Gallery, St. Andrew's School, Middletown, DE

              All You Can Eat, Pink Mammoth Gallery, San Francisco, CA

              Launch, EQ3, San Francisco, CA

              Blue, Annual Members Show, WORKS/San Jose, San Jose, CA

2002    Illuminations, Somerville City Hall, Somerville Arts Council, Somerville, MA

             Windows Art Project, Somerville Arts Council, Somerville, MA

2001     Cuba, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

1998     Gongoozle, Eventworks, Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, MA

1997     Pax et Lux et Art, Koppelman Gallery, Tufts University, Medford, MA

             Second Annual Student Exhibition, Photo Resource Center, Boston, MA

1996     Boit Competition, Grossman Gallery, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

             Under 25, Fort Point Art Community Gallery, Boston, MA

             The Annual, Grossman Gallery, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

1995     The Drawing Show, Grossman Gallery, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

  

Screenings

2010     Off the Strip, Las Vegas Contemporary Art Center

2006    Science and Education Film Program, Exploratorium, San Francisco, CA

1997     Second Annual Student Exhibition, Photo Resource Center, Boston, MA

             About Three Minutes, Video Space, Mobius, Boston, MA

             Video Annual, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA

  

Television and Radio

2014      NHK Japan, Gretel's Kitchen, June 27, July 2,3. National Coverage

2010      CBS, Rachael Ray Show, July 28, National Coverage

2008     Current TV, June 2, National, International, and Online Coverage

2007     Food Network Awards, Nominated for Play With Your Food Award, April 15, National Coverage

              KNXV-TV (ABC), January 27, Phoenix Area

              KSAZ-TV (FOX), January 26, Phoenix Area

              KPNX-TV (NBC), January 23, Phoenix Area

2006     Home and Garden Television, Offbeat America, December 3 and March 12, National Coverage

              NPR, All Things Considered, Apr. 18, National Coverage

              NPR, Talk of the Nation, Apr. 18, National Coverage

              CBS Early Show, Apr. 18, National Coverage

              Spark: New American Landscape, Apr. 5, KQED Channel 9, Northern California

              KQED, Forum with Michael Krasney, February 15, Northern California

2005     Mobuzz TV, Nov. 17, Web Broadcast

  

Publications and Catalogs

2021      The Photographer, January/February 2021, "The Photoartistry of Liz Hickok", by Bill Hedrick, pp. 36 and 37

2020     SciArt Magazine, "Culture of Contamination", SciArt Initiative, Inc., December 2020 Vol 43 

2018      Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!. RIPLEY’S ODD IS ART, Ripley Publishing, p. 92

2016     You Are Here: NYC: Mapping the Soul of the City, by Katharine Harmon, Tributary Books, pp. 26 and 27 

2010     OFF THE MAP, (catalog) Kirkland Center for the Arts, Kirkland, WA, pp. 8, 10, 13

             PARTICIPATING SPACES/DISCOVERIES OF THE MEETING PLACE, (Catalog) Cover and pp. 40 and 42

2009    It’s Better with Jell-O, SF WEEKLY, by Michael Leaverton, April 23-29, 2009, p. 22 and 24

2008    Grostadt als Dessert, "PHOTO INTERNATIONAL," by Koetzle, Hans-Michael April 2008, p. 44-53

             MANUFRACTURED (Book), by Stephen and Mara Holt Skov, p. 42

             SF Weekly, "Raw Stuff," by Hiya Swanhuyser, February 29, 2008, p. 22

2007    The Morning Sun, "More than Food," by Nikki Patrick, Pittsburg KS, Front Page and 1C

             Get out AZ, "Molded in Jell-O," by Chris Page, January 25, Cover and Pg 6-7

             Scottsdale Tribune, "Artist molds tasty Scottsdale," by Lindsay Butler, January 25, Pg A3

             The Arizona Republic, "Scottsdale Art Breaks the Mold," by Dolores Tropiano, January 25, Front Page and A12

             Ripley's Believe It or Not, Special Edition 2007, Pg 19

2006    Discover Silicon Valley, Explore Publishing Inc. December Issue, Pg 8

             7x7 San Francisco Magazine, "The Hot List," October Issue, Pg 86

             Binvan Vediur, The Israeli Magazine for Architecture and Design, August- September, Pg 34

             Scottsdale Tribune, "Scottsdale in Jell-O," by Lindsay Butler, August 28, Pg A3

             Hi-Fructose, Volume 3, Pg 6-9

             Les Debrouill Arts, Autumn Issue, Pg 4

             Bay Guardian, August 9-15, Pg 40

             New York Times Style Magazine, The Remix Section, by Michele Gentille, Fall 2006, Pg 24

             Harper's Magazine, July Issue, Pg 15

             Maxim Russia, June Issue, Pg 24-25

             Artweek, "Reconsidered Materials," by Lindsey Westbrook, May Issue, Cover and Pg 25

             Maxim UK, "Let's Make Buildings Safe from Terrorists," May Issue, Pg 22

             The Examiner, "Watch it Wiggle," by Cindy Chew, San Francisco, April 1-2, Pg 5

             Maxim China, April Issue, Pg 24-25

             Maxim Hong Kong, April Issue, Pg 25

             Popular Science, "FYI- We Answer the Questions that Keep you up at Night," by Michael Moyer and Dawn Stover, April Issue, Pg 89

             SF Weekly, "Turn to Jelly: Art with a Healthy Glow," by Hiya Swanhuyser, March 29- April 4, Pg 20 & 23

             The New York Times, "In Memory of 1906, a City Shakes Like a Bowl Full of Jell-O," by Patricia Leah Brown, February 5, Pg. 16

             Maxim USA,"The Jiggly City," February Issue, Pg 26-27

             Oakland Tribune, "Raw Materials," by Monique Beeler, Bay Area Living Section, February 16, Pg 1

             Gastronomica, "Shakespearean Jell-O," by Wendy Wall, Winter 2006, Pg 49

2005    San Francisco Magazine, Click Section, December Issue, Pg 41

             Valley Courier, "Mapping: ALL Gallery Navigates to New Space with New Show," by Leah Lopez Schmalz, Essex, CT. Dec 29, Pg C6

             Willamette Week, "The Artist Who Ate San Francisco," by Richard Speer, Portland, OR. October 12

             Metro UK, "The Sweets of San Francisco," by Aidan Radnedge, October 26th

2004    Relevance of Observation, (catalog) St. Andrews School, The Warner Gallery, Middletown, DE, Pg 20  

  

Related Experience

2005-2013     Digital Photography and Photoshop Instructor, BAVC, San Francisco, CA

2012-2013     Teacher Training, Adobe Youth Voices Program, Co-Facilitator, Bay Area Video Coalition, San Francisco, CA

2010-2013     Teacher, Digital Photography Workshops, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA

2008              Juror, The Feast, Pittsburg State University, KS

2006              Video and Photography Instructor, Internship program, Meridian Gallery, San Francisco, CA

2005              Studio Practice Instructor, Graduate Studies, California College of the Arts, San Francisco,CA

2005              Teaching Assistant, Advanced Electronic Art, Mills College, Oakland, CA

2003-05        Gallery Assistant, Traywick Contemporary, Berkeley, CA

2004              Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Electronic Art, Mills College, Oakland, CA

1999-02         Graphic Designer, The Gillette Company, Boston, MA

1996               Teacher, Art & Identity, Gender and Sexuality in 20th Century Visual Art, Tufts University,Medford, MA

1996               Teaching Assistant, Foundation Black & White Photography, Tufts University, Medford, MA

Selected Public and Private Collections

Autodesk, San Francisco, CA

Sutter Health's California Pacific Medical Center, Van Ness Campus, San Francisco, CA

Google, San Francisco, CA

Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, San Francisco, CA

UCSF Hospitals Mission Bay, San Francisco, CA

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX

Blue Shield of California, San Francisco, CA

Mills Art Museum, Oakland, CA

Joaquim Paiva Collection, Museo de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Gemma and Luis De Santos, Houston, TX

Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM

  

 *Resume last updated 03/20

bottom of page