EMILY GHERARD
NOT A BILLBOARD
Painter, Draughtsman, and Printmaker, Emily Gherard explores the powerful emotional narrative conveyed through off-balance compositions including drawings, paintings, and wood wall sculptures.
Gherard’s most current body of work has been developed in response to Käthe Kollwitz’s drawing, The Mothers, which features a group of five mothers with their children. Her image shows a complex portrayal of motherhood, emphasizing the different experiences of each figure through pose and a range of drawing styles. Gherard responds to the emotions and postures in Kollwitz’s drawing as a metaphor for her own experience with motherhood. Mark-making and materials within each of Gherard’s abstracted forms evokes a unique narrative of each figure. Emily’s eighteen expressive artworks are installed for an exhibition at J. Rinehart Gallery.
In conjunction with the exhibition, an exhibition catalog will be published with an essay written by independent scholar, writer and art advocate, Sharon Arnold.
We are thrilled to announce that Emily Gherard is a 2021 Joan Mitchell Fellow!
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My work is visually abstract; however, I derive my compositions and forms from the poses and postures of historical figurative paintings. The artworks I select have a powerful emotional narrative conveyed through off-balance compositions. I am drawn to work that uses contrasting elements like stable verse crumbling forms to capture a liminal moment.Ibuild my pieces slowly over many months; even small drawings are repeatedly built up,sanded, and collaged until their fragile existence feels inevitable. I am currently developing a body of work in response to Käthe Kollwitz’s drawing, The Mothers, which features a group of five mothers with their children. Her image shows a complex portrayal of motherhood, emphasizing the different experiences of each figure through pose and a range of drawing styles. My work responds to the emotions and postures in Kollwitz’s drawing as a metaphor for my own experience with motherhood. Working directly from Kollwitz’s piece, I contrast my use of mark-making and materials within each of my abstracted forms to evoke the unique narrative of each figure. This series is ongoing and includes drawings, paintings, and wood wall sculptures.
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Emily Gherard is a Seattle-based painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. She received her MFA from the University of Washington, and her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her work has been included in exhibitions at The Museum of Northwest Art, Whatcom Museum, The Henry Art Gallery, Gallery 4Culture, SOIL, Francine Seders Gallery, Cornish College of the Arts and Bridge Productions. She received the 2006 PONCHO Special Recognition Award and a 2014 GAP Grant from Artist Trust. In addition to being a finalist for the 2006 and 2010 Betty Bowen Award, Gherard was also a finalist for the 2013 and 2019 Neddy Art Awards at the Cornish College of the Arts. Awarded with residences at Jentel Artist Residency Program, WY and the Ora Lerman Charitable Trust Artist Residency, PA, Gherard continues to create while teaching throughout the Puget Sound area, including University of Washington, Western Washington University, North Seattle College, and Bellevue College.