About

My artistic practice is rooted in the exploration and research of caves. I’ve been fascinated by the idea of caves since growing up on Caves Road, and for the past five years I have been caving in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. My visual research is informed by caves on a physical and conceptual level. Caves are nature’s abstractions: their formations and channels disorient our understanding of landscape and space. Conceptually, seeing the earth from the inside offers a unique worldview. Entering a dark, unknown space to encounter greater knowledge mirrors the artistic process where darkness becomes a medium of vision. Encountering the unknown serves as a literal and metaphorical starting point for me and my process of working. In part, as a response to the tradition of landscape painting, in which a singular point of view translated to dominion and ownership of the land, I am interested in presenting multiple points of view and entry through which to consider the land. While cave entrances have defined boundaries, the space beneath the surface does not.

My process begins in the cave and ends in the studio. While on site, I observe the natural formations, the interplay of light and shadow, and investigate the ways in which sculptural forms emerge from geological processes. This field research serves as the bedrock for my studio practice and consists of photography, videography, LiDAR scanning, as well as more traditional methods of drawing, writing, and painting. Once I have conducted my research, I work intuitively to produce a body of work. My practice consists of making paintings using oil paint, digital prints, beeswax, oil paint and pastel.

Erika Jaeggli (born in Baltimore, MD) is a Dallas-based artist whose practice centers on the exploration and research of cave systems. Working across painting, digital photography, and installation, she investigates alternative perspectives of landscape through the lens of caves.

Jaeggli earned a B.A. in Art History from Columbia University, an M.A. from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts Interactive Telecommunications Program, and an M.F.A. in Drawing and Painting from the University of North Texas. Her work has been exhibited in Texas, Florida, California, Maryland, Arkansas, and Missouri, and has been featured in Southwest Contemporary, New American Paintings and Studio Visit Magazine.

She has participated in residencies at Cuttyhunk Island, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Jentel Foundation, VCCA Moulin à Nef, and Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Jaeggli is a recipient of the Dozier Travel Grant from the Dallas Museum of Art and a TACA Pop-Up Grant.

In addition to her studio practice, Jaeggli serves on the advisory council of Texas Vignette, a nonprofit supporting women in the arts in Texas. She has taught at the University of Texas at Dallas, the University of North Texas, and the University of Texas at Arlington, and has led art education programs at the Nasher Sculpture Center, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, and the Kimbell Art Museum. She is currently a lecturer at Dallas College. In addition to her art practice, she is an active caver and a member of the National Speleological Society and DFW Grotto.

CV

EDUCATION

M.F.A University of North Texas, College of Visual Arts & Design, Drawing & Painting

M.A. New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, Interactive Technology Program

B.A. Columbia University, Major: Art History, Minor: German Studies

GRANTS

Dallas Museum of Art: The Otis and Velma Davis Dozier Travel Grant (2021)

TACA Pop-Up Grant for Flesh & Bone at the Cedars Union (2021)

artist residencies

Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Carlsbad, New Mexico (October 2025)

Le Moulin à Nef, VCCA, Moulin à Nef, France (2025)

Jentel Artist Residency, Banner, WY (2024)

Virgina Center for the Creative Arts, Mt. San Angelo, VA (2024)

Cuttyhunk Island Artists‘ Residency, Cuttyhunk, MA (2023)

Solo Exhibitions

New Paintings by Erika Jaeggli, Giant Runt Gallery, Fort Worth, TX (2025)

Peep in the Deep, Arts Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX (2022)

A Dog Named Robot, Cora Stafford Gallery, Denton, TX (2022)

Erika Jaeggli: 19 Paintings, Union Gallery, Denton, TX (2021)

Flesh & Bone: New Work by Erika Jaeggli, Cedars Union Boedeker Building, Dallas, TX (2021)

FOMO, WAAS Gallery, Dallas, TX (2015)

Pantheon, The Ward Center for the Arts, Baltimore, MD (2015)

Two and Three Person Exhibitions

Territorial: New Works by Maria Villanueva, Victoria Gonzales, and Erika Jaeggli, The Union Gallery, Denton, TX (2020)

The Artist’s Garden: New Works by Alison Jardine & Erika Jaeggli, The Dallas Arboretum, Dallas, TX (2013)

Remnant: New Paintings by Sonali Khatti and Erika Jaeggli, Janette Kennedy Gallery, Dallas, TX (2013)

Selected Group Exhibitions

Chateau iii, Aldredge House, Dallas, TX (2024)
Preview Show, Giant Runt Gallery, Fort Worth, TX (2024)
Living Things, Curated by Maria Haag, Arts Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX (2024)
Issaweb, Lamonte's Belly, Dallas, TX (2024)
Further Than Light or Language, Voloshyn Gallery, Miami, FL; Curator: Lilia Kudelia (2023)
VOID, SP/N Gallery, Curated by: Danielle Avram and Brian Scott, Dallas, TX (2023)
Remade/Readymade/Powerade, Dallas, TX (2021)
Reclamation: Artists Books on the Environment, San Francisco Center for the Book, San Francisco, CA (2021)
Irene Rosenzweig Biennial Juried Exhibition, The Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, (2021)
Rio Brazos Art Exhibition, Granbury, TX (2021)
January Group Art Show, Jones Gallery, Kansas City, MO (2021)
Vignette Art Fair, Women’s Museum at Fair Park, Dallas, TX (2018)
Vignette Art Fair, Women’s Museum at Fair Park, Dallas, TX (2017)
Inaugural Show, ModArtists Gallery, Dallas, TX (2014)
Summer Juried Show, Sylvia White Gallery, Ventura, CA, Juror: Sylvia White (2013)
Trans-, The McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX (2012)
7 Takes on a Landscape, Austin Art Connections, Austin, TX (2012)
Plano 125, Collin College, Plano, TX (2012)
Five x Seven, Arthouse, Austin, TX (2012)
The Goldilocks Show, Lytle Pressley Contemporary, Austin, TX (2012)