Emma John
emmajohnstudio@gmail.com
I draw compositions from observation to give shape to internal feelings and urges using oil paint. The geometries of the world become the physical body of the painting within which sensation can spring; much like an eyeball allows for sight, and a tongue allows for taste. As the world filters through my own eyes, brain, heart and hand, it sublimates into vaporous, shifting images. The residue of experiencing the weather, or the light from the meadow are things I cherish but inevitably lose touch with as I enter the studio. I build up pigment and carve back into it, searching for these sources again. I choose oils for the slowness they demand. They force my hand to remember. Playing with matter and the possibilities of paint is a proxy for dealing with transformation and the ever-changing nature of life. As I work, I seek to conjure an aura of being alive.
EDUCATION
2025
NYC Crit Club, The Canopy Program 2.0
NYC Crit Club, Visiting Critic Program
2024
NYC Crit Club, The Canopy Program
Turps Art School, Correspondence Course
2023
Turps Art School, Correspondence Course
2022
Chelsea College of Arts, Graduate Diploma with distinction
2014
University of St Andrews, Social Anthropology with honors
GROUP SHOWS
2025
Perimeter Gallery, Belfast ME - opens July 3
Summer Show, The Parsonage Gallery, Searsport ME - opens June 28
2024
Art Show!, W.O.L.F., Walpole ME
Ten by Night, The Canopy Studio, New York City
Ten Thousand Sprats to Apprehend a Whale, Pascal Hall, Rockport ME
ARTPM, Buoy Gallery, Kittery ME
2023
Daybreak, 82Parris, Portland ME
Housewarming, 82Parris, Portland ME
The Final Spin, New Systems Exhibitions, Portland ME
2022
Between Paper and a Hard Place, Lungley Gallery, London UK
Degree Show, Chelsea College of Arts, London UK
I’m In It!, Safehouse 1 & 2, Maverick Projects, London UK
BOG[art], The Morgue, Chelsea College of Arts, London UK
Nexus, The Triangle Space, Chelsea College of Arts, London UK
2021
Solstice, Chelsea College of Arts, London UK
ARTPM, Buoy Gallery, Kittery ME