'Abstract, visceral and evocative' - the work of Emma Richardson

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Emma Richardson: 'FEAST'

Friday 21 February – Saturday 29 March 2014

Southampton-based artist Emma Richardson is to have her first solo exhibition with the Outsiders Gallery in London's Soho. Entitled 'FEAST', the exhibition, comprising large-scale paintings and drawings, explores the jungle of the subconscious and the unconscious imagination.

Using her preferred medium of oil paint and charcoal loosely applied to linen, Richardson creates abstract yet suggestive forms that are simultaneously visceral and evocative. Through this application of materials, the artist investigates the ever-changing nature of the human form. Revelling in the unpredictable nature of her chosen medium, Richardson engages with her materials in a very intuitive way, shaping these tools of colour and movement into forms laden with multiple allusions. In doing so, she calls attention to fluid nature of the human psyche with a focus on the erotic yet basic human desires, which are shared by all.

For this particular body of work, Richardson has delved deeper into the world of psychoanalysis, behaviourism and humanist psychology citing masters of the field, including the Surrealist Georges Bataille  and psychologist Sigmund Freud, as inspirations for her work.  Moved by questions surrounding human sexuality and the fine line between human nature and animalistic behaviour, the artist prompts her audience to re-examine notions of what drives us as human beings, querying notions of what is socially acceptable and what is taboo.

As well as an accomplished visual artist, Richardson is also bassist and vocalist in Band of Skulls. The artist’s latest body of work arrives on the eve of the release of Himalayan, the third album from the band, on 31 March 2014 and an accompanying UK tour.  

About the Artist: Emma Richardson

Born in Southampton in 1982, Emma Richardson is a contemporary abstract artist. Primarily working with oil, acrylic and charcoal, she typically creates large-scale paintings on linen, that are both visceral and evocative.

Heavily influenced by painting masters including Francis Bacon, and the drawings of Hans Bellmer, Richardson’s paintings exploit the medium to explore the nature of the human form, whilst making use of the physical quality of the medium against the rough texture of the linen on which she often works.

Her first solo exhibition took place in February 2012 at the Londonewcastle Project Space, in Shoreditch, East London. The same series of paintings were later exhibited in Hong Kong in May 2012 as part of the group exhibition 'Daydreaming with… The Hong Kong Edition', to great critical acclaim.

Since graduating with a BA in Fine Art (Painting) from Wimbledon School of Art in 2004, Richardson has split her time between her fine art practice, and performing in the band, Band of Skulls.

She currently lives and works in her hometown.

The Outsiders Gallery
8 Greek Street
Soho
London W1D 4DG