Emma Whitelock

We are Delighted to be showcasing Emma Whitelock’s work in the gallery for the second time this summer.

Emma studied Art alongside English Literature at the University of York St John. Graduating with a First Class Honours degree and the University’s Humanities Prize, she was awarded a British Academy Scholarship to undertake an interdisciplinary MA by Research in English with History of Art at the University of York. Her interest in literature complements the poetic nature of her painting. 

Depicting evocative land and seascapes, Emma’s work often incorporates a lone female figure as a tiny symbol amidst the expansiveness of nature. Seeking to create an emotional connection, the elemental acts as a foil to human experiences of memory and solitude. Emma’s expressive style mixes semi-abstraction with a keen interest in composition; amorphous horizons leading the viewer on a journey. Close up, textures and marks create an abstract surface area, stand back and the whole melds into a space you feel you could step into. Her use of colour is both dramatic and ethereal, giving the works an atmosphere of being poised on the borderline between day and night. They are charged moments, filled with remembrances past and possibilities for the future.