Rosie Emerson

Ophelia # 5, hand painted, mixed media portrait photography on paper, framed

2012

Rosie Emerson was born in 1981, is a contemporary artist working almost exclusively on representing the female form. Emerson’s figures draw reference from archetypes old and new, from Artemis to the modern-day supermodel, each solitary figure, an allegory of her fantasy. Interested in the surface, the interplay between photography and painting. Emerson’s works are playful constructs, photography is used, not as a device for capturing reality but for creating romanticized optical illusions. Inspired by her love of theatre, performance, shrines and rituals, she uses lighting, costume, set and prop making alongside printmaking and a painter’s palette to create one-off pieces that aim to be simultaneously known and unknown of this world and not. Her photography is inspired by both the drama of the baroque and ethereal qualities of Pre Raphaelite works. Other important influences include late medieval and renaissance paintings, Japanese prints and magical realist literature. Her work is widely collected and exhibited both in the UK as well as internationally, through galleries, art fairs and museums. She has also worked with brands and individuals including Harvey Nichols, The Ivy Club, Sony, Triumph Underwear, Redbull, P&O Cruises and Annoushka jewelry. Her work has also been featured in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, AnOther Magazine, The Financial Times Magazine and The Sunday Times Style Magazine. In 2014, she was invited to be Artist in residence at Somerset House as part of The National Open Art Competition and was commissioned by Hackney WickED Arts Festival to create a new world record by making the world’s largest Cyanotype photograph. She was awarded the Bridgeman Studio Award and has been invited to take part in the Young Masters art Prize, exhibiting her works alongside old masters at Sphinx Gallery in London.