Paintings by Erik Kleiber
The Importance of Family
A body of work exploring identity, memory, and everyday life through recurring characters, personal symbolism, and a distinct visual language.
Featured Work
Selected Paintings
Make a Wish
Oil on Wood Panel, 15 3/4" x 19 3/4"
This painting combines personal imagery with references to The Starry Night and Girl with a Pearl Earring, reimagined through my own characters and visual language.
View preliminary sketch
The Family
Oil on Canvas, 16 1/4" x 40 1/4"
This painting is based on my family—father, daughter, and dog—and draws on Stepping Out by Roy Lichtenstein, reimagined through my own characters and visual language.
View preliminary sketch
Going for a Spin
Oil on Canvas with Glitter, 47 1/2" x 35 1/2"
A fantasy scene that expands my visual world, introducing new characters and a sense of movement and energy through layered forms and color.
View preliminary sketch
Going for a Walk
Oil on Canvas, 59 1/2" x 47 1/2"
This painting developed while I was looking at the work of Pablo Picasso and working in mosaic, with those influences appearing in the structure, fragmentation, and surface of the image.
View preliminary sketch
Self?
Oil on Wood Panel, 15 3/4" x 19 1/2"
A self-referential portrait influenced by Stepping Out and Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, developed alongside mosaic work, with those influences shaping the structure and surface of the image.
View preliminary sketch
Dorothy and Toto
Oil on Wood Panel, 15 3/4" x 19 3/4"
My recurring characters—the girl and the dog—are placed within the world of The Wizard of Oz, drawing on a film that was a favorite of mine growing up.
View preliminary sketch
The Girl
Oil on Canvas, 23 1/2" x 29 1/2"
This painting developed while I was looking at the work of Pablo Picasso and studying graphic design, with those influences shaping the composition and simplified forms of the image.
View preliminary sketch
The Dog
Oil on Canvas, 29 1/2" x 23 1/2"
This painting developed while I was looking at the work of Pablo Picasso and studying graphic design, with those influences shaping the composition and simplified forms of the image.
View preliminary sketch
The Family Mosaic
Cut Glass and Tile on Wood Panel, 17 1/4" x 21 1/4"
A reinterpretation of The Family in glass and tile, translating the painting into a mosaic through changes in material, surface, and structure.
View preliminary sketchArtist Statement
The Importance of Family
This body of work explores family, identity, and everyday experience through recurring characters drawn from my own life. These figures move between memory, imagination, and a personal visual language shaped through painting, collage, and drawing.
The work balances humor, distortion, and narrative, using familiar visual references in unexpected ways. At its core, it reflects a search for meaning, connection, and positivity within everyday life.
Read full artist statementExplore More Work
Additional Portfolio Sites
You can also view my graphic design portfolio and Faith & Light Art Glass website.
About
Erik Kleiber
Erik Kleiber is an artist working across painting, collage, and glass. His work explores family, memory, and identity through recurring characters drawn from his own life.
Rooted in a background in skilled trades, his process emphasizes structure, repetition, and problem-solving. Through drawing, collage, and material experimentation, his work develops into a personal visual language shaped by both experience and imagination.
Contact
Get in Touch
For inquiries about available work, commissions, exhibitions, or future projects, please contact me by email.
erikkleiberek@gmail.com