Erika b Hess (b.1982, Zanesville, OH) is a painter and curator who maintains studios in Columbus, OH, and Long Island City, NY. She received her BFA from Wright State University in 2006 and her MFA from Boston University in 2009. Hess has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions across the U.S. and internationally. In 2023, she both curated and exhibited work in the group show I Spy a May Queen at Contemporary Art Matters, Columbus, OH. Group exhibitions include First Street Gallery, New York, NY; Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA; MASH Gallery, Los Angeles, CA; Contemporary Art Matters, Columbus, OH; Bomb Factory, London, UK; and Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, MA. She has an upcoming solo exhibition at Studio Break Gallery, Chicago, IL, in fall 2025. Hess’s work has been featured in publications including Visionary Arts Magazine, AllSHEMakes, Poets and Artists, Fresh Paint, and Post Industrial Complex, a book released by the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit. In 2024, Hess was named the Sydelle Sonkin and Herb Segull Artistic Director of Visual Arts at Chautauqua Institution. She is the creator and host of the podcast I Like Your Work, which highlights contemporary artists and curators. She frequently lectures at colleges such as Ohio State University, Wellesley College, Massachusetts College of Art & Design, and the University of Montana, among many others. Hess has served on panels including the Cleveland Institute of Art’s Feminism Now: Exposing the Truth, Boston University’s Building Collaborative Art Spaces, and other panels exploring the intersection of feminism, community, and art.