Alexander Berggruen opens an exhibition of works by Emma Webster
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Thursday, October 31, 2024


Alexander Berggruen opens an exhibition of works by Emma Webster
Emma Webster, Ungrounded, 2021. Oil on linen, 60 x 84 in. Photo: Marten Elder.



NEW YORK, NY.- Alexander Berggruen is presenting Emma Webster: Green Iscariot.

Emma Webster: Green Iscariot presents vibrant landscapes that combine painting’s rich history of illusion with frontier optics of virtual reality. In her humanless scenes, Webster signals that landscape—and the natural environment as a whole—merits respect. In these new species of space, nature has her own agency and power well beyond that granted by humankind.

Webster’s Iscariot—the surname of Judas the Betrayer—points the finger at humans, for it is we who have betrayed Nature. Or perhaps the traitor is the color green itself. Slippery and fresh, green is the color of sustainable politics, youth and naivete as well as of sickness, envy and jealousy. It may also represent the camouflage of the Chroma Key (or green screen)—a clear deception, a fake promise of what could be, leaving the viewer to ask: is green symbolic of a solution or a delusion?

In Green Iscariot, Webster blurs the line between set and actor, leaving one to ponder whether it is the character or the object that is being staged. In fact, what the stage is altogether? Is the tree the central character or is the entire environment one player?




Webster presents Nature in her own reality, hyper-hued worlds that do not play by the rules or the Laws of Physics. They are a virtual, whimsical hybrid of somewhere that’s green, yet beyond the limits of our optics. Here, familiar and foreign mirages collide. Artificial and real climates meld as Webster invites the viewer to question quixotic conventions and project onto their own green screens.

In Sky Stage, a curtain of clouds arcs upward, enveloping a vermillion sun before crashing into a placid sea. The whitewater vapor erupts into bulbous plumes of wet, thick brushstrokes that swirl almost as if sung from the stage of an opera. In Glen, the swells that shape a taffy pond ripple from the water’s edge across rolling hills. The water’s wake uproots a tree and another trunk arches in support, their leaves intertwined as if holding hands, always interconnected. In Weather System, smoke emerges from a forest fire in weighty tendrils, creating dragon thunderclouds which in turn spark more fires. Thus offering a simple warning for us not to ignore an Earth in peril.

Much like multispecies feminist Donna Haraway who reminds us that the human and nonhuman are inextricably connected and that all earthlings are kin in the deepest sense, Webster leaves us with a safe word. It is unity. For wherever this is, we must be in this place together.

Emma Webster: Green Iscariot will run at Alexander Berggruen (1018 Madison Avenue, Floor 3) from September 8-October 14, 2021.

This exhibition marks Emma Webster’s first solo show with Alexander Berggruen, following her inclusion in the gallery’s group show Animal Kingdom (June 26-August 29, 2020).

Emma Webster (b. 1989, Encinitas, CA) received a BA in Art Practice at Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA in 2011 and an MFA in Painting at Yale University, New Haven, CT in 2018. The British-American artist has been an artist-in-residence at Anderson Ranch Painting Residency, Snowmass, CO; Vermont Studio Center Residency, Johnson, VT; and Ox-Bow Artist Residency, Saugatuck, MI. Webster has received the Raina Giese Award in Creative Painting and the Academy of Art University Award for Best Figure Drawing. Recent exhibitions include: Carl Kostyál, London, United Kingdom; Diane Rosenstein, Los Angeles, CA; Museum of Art & History, Lancaster, CA; Mana Contemporary, Jersey City, NJ; Woskob Gallery with Maake Magazine, Penn State, PA; and Spinnerei (Pilotenkueche), Leipzig, Germany. She has been featured in publications including: Artforum International, New American Painting, Los Angeles Times, and Artsy. Webster lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.










Today's News

September 8, 2021

The Bonnier Gallery Presents: Pioneer Digital Artist Yucef Merhi

Sotheby's to offer collection of renowned magician & entertainer Ricky Jay

Georgia Museum of Art receives major photography gift

Hauser & Wirth exhibits a large-scale sculpture and twelve works on paper by Phyllida Barlow

Pace opens an exhibition of four paintings by Zhang Huan at its East Hampton gallery

Swedish silver donated to Nationalmuseum

David Zwirner opens an exhibition of new work by Andra Ursuţa

Collection of esteemed gallerist Virginia Zabriskie to open fall 2021 season at Swann

Phillips Asia presents INTERSECT Online Auction of Contemporary Art, Jewels & Watches

Solo exhibition featuring sculptures and reliefs by Fred Sandback opens at Fondation CAB

Michael Rosenfeld Gallery opens its third solo exhibition of paintings by Beauford Delaney

Fondazione ICA Milano opens the first solo show in Italy dedicated to Michael Anastassiades

Alexander Berggruen opens an exhibition of works by Emma Webster

Tanya Bonakdar Gallery announces Renee Coppola as Sales Director, Los Angeles

Rockefeller Center installs Paula Crown's virtual 'message in a bottle' interactive artwork 'Emanare'

Bocelli serenades Venice's Rialto Bridge after restoration

Toni Servillo, Italy's everyman, in limelight at Venice

Abu Dhabi Art launches an initiative to support growing Emirati arts scene

France set for rare national tribute to film star Belmondo

Afghan art activist defiant as Taliban erase Kabul murals

Mexico to replace Columbus statue with indigenous woman

'The Box' gets inside Mexican sweatshop at Venice film festival

Ben Brown Fine Arts presents a new body of work by Enoc Perez

In literary organizations, diversity disputes keep coming

Exhibition of quilted works by Arrange Whatever Pieces Come Your Way opens at Mount Stuart

With a mess of fabrics, Broadway's costume shops return to work

Where to find the best CBD-infused gummies?

Top 5 most famous football players-WAGS couples in the world today

How To Use Hashtags To Increase Likes

NBA 2K22 Brings Bicycle Races to MyCAREER and The City

Can CBD Help People with Psoriasis Find Relief?

CBD Capsules As Post Workout Recovery?




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful