Recently a great friend in New York pointed out the work of artist Emerald Rose Whipple to us and it was love at first sight, as her art works give a fresh view on youth culture, using a very old technique: oil painting. It’s contemporary romance, it’s real and it’s total Beauty without Irony.
On March 2, 2016, Emerald had a solo exhibition at Volta in NYC (see below), called ‘Genesis’ Let there be Light’ and we urged all of you to go and take a look if you can. We would if we could!
The Beginning 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. – Genesis
The painting series ‘Genesis’ Let there be Light’ by the artist Emerald Rose Whipple explores the relationship of the soul and the Sun, embodied by the subject of modern youth. Emerald Whipple’s portrait painting series on display epitomizes New York’s Lower East Side avant-garde cult society. The series conveys the anthropology of young people; specifically the artists close friends and their coming of age. Every painting, meticulously executed and teeming with adolescent attraction, is derived from Whipple’s own experiences. The lustrous youths portrayed are famous but obscured in Whipple’s decadent and ravishing interpretation. The androgynous faces guise the wild romanticism, spontaneity, and sentiment of her generation while Whipple’s work explores the fundamentals of youth and the beginnings of romance, light and the soul. This universal desire is vividly brought to life and playfully documented in the adventure of each individual portrait.
”At the centre of all things resides the sun. Could we find a better place in this most beautiful of all temples, from whence this light illuminates all things at once? Rightly is it called the lamp, the sprit, the ruler of the universe… Thus, the sun sits on its royal thrown and guides its children, which circle it. ” – N. COPERNICUS, De Revolutionibus Orbio Ceaelestium 1543 AD
The series avoids traditional portrait photography and allows Whipple to intimately engage with the subject in a collaborative editorial process in curating the image selection. The process begins with a dialogue between the artist and subject and culminates in the recollection and longing return to the moment the image was captured. In this regard the series is a product of the modern media, fashion, popular culture and styling.
Read more about Emerald’s work here: