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Eric Zener Paintings

American, b. 1966

Eric Zener is a self-taught Photorealist artist recognized for his figure paintings of lone subjects often submerged in swimming pools.

Zener employs water as a metaphorical tool to express renewal and personal transformation. It speaks to the collective desire in all of us to retreat from the noise of the world, challenging the shallow, surface-level questions and concerns that frame our daily lives. Additionally, Zener works across a broad spectrum of materials, including paint, silver leaf, and resin, to create texture, depth, and dimensionality in his work.

Zener’s work has been exhibited in the United States, and internationally, for over 25 years. His solo exhibition history has largely been with his long-standing dealers in San Francisco and New York. Additionally, Zener has had numerous shows in Asia, Australia and Europe. Eric’s work has been featured and reviewed extensively in art magazines and other publications. Apart from gallery representation his work has also been included in museum shows and international residency programs.

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Artist: Eric Zener
SELF - Contemporary Realism / Swimmer / Waterscape / Male Figure
SELF - Contemporary Realism / Swimmer / Waterscape / Male Figure

SELF - Contemporary Realism / Swimmer / Waterscape / Male Figure

By Eric Zener

Located in New York, NY

Original oil painting by Eric Zener. Eric Zener’s photorealistic paintings and resins are focused on four motifs: landscapes, figures in bed or on tightropes, and bodies in water. ...

Category

2010s Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

SUMMER RIPPLE - Contemporary / Figurative / Swimmer
SUMMER RIPPLE - Contemporary / Figurative / Swimmer

SUMMER RIPPLE - Contemporary / Figurative / Swimmer

By Eric Zener

Located in New York, NY

Original Painting by Eric Zener. Eric Zener (b. 1966, Astoria, OR) completed his BA in 1988 at the University of California, Santa Barbara. As an artist he has been engaged in a qu...

Category

2010s Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

NIGHT PLUNGE II - Contemporary Realism / Water / Ocean / Deep Blue
NIGHT PLUNGE II - Contemporary Realism / Water / Ocean / Deep Blue

NIGHT PLUNGE II - Contemporary Realism / Water / Ocean / Deep Blue

By Eric Zener

Located in New York, NY

Original oil painting by Eric Zener. Eric Zener (b. 1966, Astoria, OR) completed his BA in 1988 at the University of California, Santa Barbara. As an artist he has been engaged in ...

Category

2010s Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

HOW TO BE HAPPY - Underwater Photorealism / Female Swimmer / Large Portrait
HOW TO BE HAPPY - Underwater Photorealism / Female Swimmer / Large Portrait

HOW TO BE HAPPY - Underwater Photorealism / Female Swimmer / Large Portrait

By Eric Zener

Located in New York, NY

Original oil painting by Eric Zener. Eric Zener (b. 1966, Astoria, OR) completed his BA in 1988 at the University of California, Santa Barbara. As an artist he has been engaged in ...

Category

2010s Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

ETHEREAL- Blue Water / Female Swimmer / Floating Free / Photorealism
ETHEREAL- Blue Water / Female Swimmer / Floating Free / Photorealism

ETHEREAL- Blue Water / Female Swimmer / Floating Free / Photorealism

By Eric Zener

Located in New York, NY

Original oil painting by Eric Zener. Eric Zener’s photorealistic paintings and resins are focused on four motifs: landscapes, figures in bed or on tightropes, and bodies in water. ...

Category

2010s Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

PATHWAYS - Abstract Landscape / Branches and Tree / Blue and Brown
PATHWAYS - Abstract Landscape / Branches and Tree / Blue and Brown

PATHWAYS - Abstract Landscape / Branches and Tree / Blue and Brown

By Eric Zener

Located in New York, NY

Original Oil Painting by Eric Zener Eric Zener (b. 1966, Astoria, OR) completed his BA in 1988 at the University of California, Santa Barbara. As an artist he has been engaged in a...

Category

2010s Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

ABOVE IT ALL - Contemporary Realism / Male Figure Swimmer / Ladder Journey Sky
ABOVE IT ALL - Contemporary Realism / Male Figure Swimmer / Ladder Journey Sky

ABOVE IT ALL - Contemporary Realism / Male Figure Swimmer / Ladder Journey Sky

By Eric Zener

Located in New York, NY

Original Painting by Eric Zener Eric Zener (b. 1966, Astoria, OR) completed his BA in 1988 at the University of California, Santa Barbara. As an artist he has been engaged in a que...

Category

2010s Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

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Oil Painting / Photorealism / Figurative Art / Human Figure /Museum

Oil Painting / Photorealism / Figurative Art / Human Figure /Museum

By Bruce Adams

Located in Buffalo, NY

Bruce Adams was a painter, art educator, and writer. Born in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1952, he received a B.S. in 1976 and an M.A. in 1983 from Buffalo State College. Adams’s work is includ...

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1990s Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

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Salix

Robert MarchessaultSalix, 2018

$19,350

H 64 in W 54 in

Salix

By Robert Marchessault

Located in Montreal, Quebec

My painting is an inquiry. I make images as a way of responding to experiences that are important to me. Experiences that help me to understand why I’m in this world often happens when I am outside in large open spaces. Painted images act as a tool. I respond to the spaces my art suggests. That response is usually non-verbal. I am interested in the experience of non-duality that “getting lost” in big spaces can sometimes produce for me. The paintings have gone through a range of artistic treatments with the recent years seeing a focus on space, light, textures, atmosphere and distance. My landscape paintings are made from memory, not from on-site drawings or photographs. I use memory as a filtering agent to remove non-essential visual elements. When a work is successful, it must have a sense of poetry. There is nothing “new...

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2010s Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

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Oil, Acrylic, Canvas

The Sphere of Reason
The Sphere of Reason

The Sphere of Reason

By Mark Kostabi

Located in New York, NY

Oil on canvas Signed and dated, l.l. This painting is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. Price includes framing. About the artist: Artist and Composer Mark Kostabi was b...

Category

1990s Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

A serene moorland scene with rich hues, misty hills, and a reflective waterway
A serene moorland scene with rich hues, misty hills, and a reflective waterway

A serene moorland scene with rich hues, misty hills, and a reflective waterway

Located in Preston, GB

A serene moorland scene with rich hues, misty hills, and a reflective waterway by 20th Century British Artist. Impasto, abstract landscape. Art measures 20 x 16 inches Frame measu...

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1970s Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

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She Was Always Quick by Doug Foltz Oil on Canvas Low Country Landscape Blues

She Was Always Quick by Doug Foltz Oil on Canvas Low Country Landscape Blues

By Doug Foltz

Located in Atlanta, GA

Known for his luminous, atmospheric landscapes, Doug Foltz masterfully captures both vastness and intimacy in She Was Always Quick to Forgive. Rendered in soft tonal grays and silver...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Let's Rally by Devan Sweeney, Oil on Canvas Tennis Vibrant Contemporary Painting
Let's Rally by Devan Sweeney, Oil on Canvas Tennis Vibrant Contemporary Painting

Let's Rally by Devan Sweeney, Oil on Canvas Tennis Vibrant Contemporary Painting

Located in Atlanta, GA

Energetic Tennis-Inspired Abstract by Devan Sweeney – "Let's Rally", 30" x 30", Acrylic on Canvas Let’s Rally is a bold and expressive tribute to the rhythm and spirit of tennis, cr...

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Contemporary Figural Interior Scene
Contemporary Figural Interior Scene

Contemporary Figural Interior Scene, 2006

$850

H 29.5 in W 47.75 in D 1.25 in

Contemporary Figural Interior Scene

Located in Astoria, NY

Contemporary School, Figural Interior Scene, Oil on Canvas, 2006, depicting seated man by radiator, initialed "JSW" and dated lower right, Uptown Gallery label verso, unframed. 29.5...

Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

"Penny Arcade" girl in blue bathing suit rides boat game at the arcade, summer

"Penny Arcade" girl in blue bathing suit rides boat game at the arcade, summer

By Fred Calleri

Located in Edgartown, MA

Fred Calleri was born in Maryland and has slowly moved westward towards his current home in Santa Barbara, California. On his way, he earned an Illustration and Graphic Design degree...

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2010s Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

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"Lighten Up" a woman in white bathing suit, arms outstretched, drifting
"Lighten Up" a woman in white bathing suit, arms outstretched, drifting

"Lighten Up" a woman in white bathing suit, arms outstretched, drifting

By Carol Bennett

Located in Edgartown, MA

"I throw myself into the water almost every day- it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts. The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Pr...

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2010s Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

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"Drawbridge", Modernist Bay Area California Abstracted Landscape with Boats
"Drawbridge", Modernist Bay Area California Abstracted Landscape with Boats

"Drawbridge", Modernist Bay Area California Abstracted Landscape with Boats

By David Fleming

Located in Soquel, CA

"Drawbridge", an expressive contemporary abstracted landscape painting by David Fleming (American, 20th Century). The artist uses swirling, painterly brushstrokes in a palette of primary colors; the blue water and sky with yellow accents framed by red urban landmasses on each side, highlighted with touches of green detail work that blends from geometric cityscape into abstraction. Signed "Fleming" lower right. Unframed. Canvas size: 24"H x 36"W. Santa Cruz artist David Fleming graduated from San Jose State University with a B.S. in industrial design, and soon went to work for Ford in Detroit as a car stylist. After two years he returned to California to work for Lockheed as an off-road vehicle designer. Fleming spent a year in Stuttgart, Germany, working for Porsche, designing cars, and helicopters, and later returned to California to pursue full time painting. David Flemings paintings have been exhibited in many galleries and exhibitions, including: Los Robles Gallery in Palo Alto, the Union and the Luggage Store...

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Early 2000s Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

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New Leaf 4658

Kate SalenfriendNew Leaf 4658

$2,600

H 48 in W 24 in D 1.5 in

New Leaf 4658

By Kate Salenfriend

Located in Napa, CA

Surrounded by artistic inspiration from a very early age, Kate Salenfriend learned most of her technical skills from her great-grandfather, Stewart Robertson, the registered Californ...

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21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

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Gold Leaf

"The Apprentice" young boy in a shop showing his newest piece, a duck

"The Apprentice" young boy in a shop showing his newest piece, a duck

By Fred Calleri

Located in Edgartown, MA

Fred Calleri was born in Maryland and has slowly moved westward towards his current home in Santa Barbara, California. On his way, he earned an Illustration and Graphic Design degree...

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2010s Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

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Previously Available Items
LOOKING AHEAD, man in water, photorealism, underwater, swimmer
LOOKING AHEAD, man in water, photorealism, underwater, swimmer

LOOKING AHEAD, man in water, photorealism, underwater, swimmer

By Eric Zener

Located in New York, NY

Eric Zener’s photorealistic paintings and resins are focused on four motifs: landscapes, figures in bed or on tightropes, and bodies in water. Zener manipulates light to create psych...

Category

2010s Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Resin, Mixed Media

EPHEMERA I, Swimmer, Blue Water, Pool, Bubbles, Female Form
EPHEMERA I, Swimmer, Blue Water, Pool, Bubbles, Female Form

EPHEMERA I, Swimmer, Blue Water, Pool, Bubbles, Female Form

By Eric Zener

Located in New York, NY

Eric Zener’s photorealistic oil paintings are focused on four motifs: landscapes, figures in bed or on tightropes, and bodies in the water. A self-taught artist, Zener manipulates li...

Category

2010s Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Unbound, Contemporary Realist Painting, Oil, Figurative, Swimmer, Ocean, Blue
Unbound, Contemporary Realist Painting, Oil, Figurative, Swimmer, Ocean, Blue

Unbound, Contemporary Realist Painting, Oil, Figurative, Swimmer, Ocean, Blue

By Eric Zener

Located in New York, NY

In this painting, a large female swimmer comes into close-view as she rises from under the blue pool water towards the surface. The painting is similar to a large selfie or an underw...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Where I End and You Begin
Where I End and You Begin

Where I End and You Begin

By Eric Zener

Located in New York, NY

Eric Zener’s photorealistic paintings and resins are focused on four motifs: landscapes, figures in bed or on tightropes, and bodies in water. Zener manipulates light to create psych...

Category

2010s Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Deep Voyager

Eric ZenerDeep Voyager, 2012

Sold

H 72 in W 84 in

Deep Voyager

By Eric Zener

Located in New York, NY

Eric Zener’s photorealistic paintings are focused on four motifs: landscapes, figures in bed or on tightropes, and bodies in water. Zener manipulates light to create psychologically ...

Category

2010s Photorealist Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

A Clear Opening Ahead

A Clear Opening Ahead

By Eric Zener

Located in New York, NY

Eric Zener (b. 1966, Astoria, Oregon) is an American photorealist artist best known for figure paintings of lone subjects, often in or about swimming pools. Zener is a self-taught ar...

Category

2010s Realist Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Breaking the Surface Tension

Breaking the Surface Tension

By Eric Zener

Located in New York, NY

Eric Zener’s photorealistic paintings are focused on four motifs: landscapes, figures in bed or on tightropes, and bodies in water. Zener manipulates light to create psychologically ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Thin Line Study II

Eric ZenerThin Line Study II

Sold

H 16 in W 13.5 in

Thin Line Study II

By Eric Zener

Located in New York, NY

Eric Zener’s photorealistic oil paintings are focused on four motifs: landscapes, figures in bed or on tightropes, and bodies in water. Zener manipulates light to create psychologica...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Mixed Media, Resin

Blissful Descent
Blissful Descent

Blissful Descent

By Eric Zener

Located in New York, NY

Eric Zener’s photorealistic paintings are focused on four motifs: landscapes, figures in bed or on tightropes, and bodies in water. Zener manipulates light to create psychologically ...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Letting Go
Letting Go

Eric ZenerLetting Go, 2015

Sold

H 60 in W 70 in

Letting Go

By Eric Zener

Located in New York, NY

Eric Zener (b. 1966, Astoria, Oregon) is an American photorealist artist best known for figure paintings of lone subjects, often in or about swimming pools. Zener is a self-taught artist. His new series turns to large scale, bright yet enigmatic canvases based on amusement park water slides...

Category

21st Century and Contemporary Eric Zener Paintings

Materials

Oil

Eric Zener paintings for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Eric Zener paintings available for sale on 1stDibs. If you’re browsing the collection of paintings to introduce a pop of color in a neutral corner of your living room or bedroom, you can find work that includes elements of blue and other colors. You can also browse by medium to find art by Eric Zener in paint, canvas, fabric and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 21st century and contemporary and is mostly associated with the contemporary style. Not every interior allows for large Eric Zener paintings, so small editions measuring 24 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of David Ligare, Thelma Appel, and Chris Gwaltney. Eric Zener paintings prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $8,000 and tops out at $90,000, while the average work can sell for $46,000.