Emma Coop is an artist who always seems to be venturing somewhere else. Her work centres around a deep affinity with nature and the elements, however having lived in cities all her life; her connection with nature is not based on a daily relationship, but of fleeting encounters and memories. Primed by Romanticism, nature is imbued with metaphor for emotional states and this connection is highlighted in the titles of her work, which often read as lines from a story, hinting at hidden narratives and emotions. These moments of escape into nature are extended back in the studio via a labour-intensive process of drawing.
The imagery she deploys seems to embrace a sense of traveling towards an experience, wether it be the distant horizon of a seascape, looking into the depths of the sea, or the lure of a what could be a passage-way through the thicket, somewhere ‘else’ always seem to beckoning.
Graphite is used to slowly build an image through an assimilation of marks. Densely layered graphite results in deeply reflective surfaces; that reveal the reality of their creation when light catches the surface to expose thousands of marks, suffused with restlessness. The multiplicity and intensity of these marks expose an element of performance and endurance. The resulting artworks express this laboured process along with it’s inherent desire.
Emma Coop is also known as Emma Torkington
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EDUCATION
2004 MA Fine Art, Chelsea College of Art & Design, UAL
2003 PG Dip Fine Art, Chelsea College of Art & Design, UAL
2000 BA (Hons) Interactive Arts, Manchester Metropolitan University
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SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2021 Forthcoming WALES CONTEMPORARY, Oxo Tower Gallery, London
2021 Forthcoming RWA 168th ANNUAL OPEN, RWA, Bristol
2021 Forthcoming THIS YEAR’S MODEL, Studio 1.1 Gallery, London
2020 WALES CONTEMPORARY, Waterfront Gallery, Milford Haven
2020 DRAWING BEYOND ITSELF, Air Gallery, Manchester
2020 DRAWING BEYOND ITSELF, virtual show, http://www.artsteps.com
2020 FERENS OPEN, Ferens Art Gallery, Hull
2019 WE EACH HAVE OUR OWN LANDSCAPE, Lewisham Art House, London
2019 BLUE MIND, 3rd on 3rd Gallery, Jamestown, NY
2019 CREEKSIDE OPEN: SELECTED BY BRIAN GRIFFITHS, APT Gallery, London
2019 EDITION 5: HIDE AND SEEK, 44AD Gallery, Bath
2018 ON THE EDGE, (SOLO SHOW) Lodestone Creative, Bowling, Scotland
2018 ART FEAST, Someth1ng Gallery, London
2018 THRESHOLDS, Gonzo Unit, Thessaloniki, Greece
2018 MURMURATION, ICE Space, Bath Fringe, Bath
2018 SIGHTLINES, Christmas Steps Gallery, Bristol
2017 THE SAME DEEP WATER, The Great Medical Disaster, Manchester
2017 EVOLVE DAMN IT, Camberwell Arts Festival, London
2017 PROOF, Art Hub Gallery, London
2017 THIS YEAR’S MODEL: DEEP SPACE, Studio 1.1, London
2017 RE:COUNT, Someth1ng Gallery, London
2016 LOOKING UP, Studio 1.1, London
2016 SIXTY, Art Athina, Art Fair, Athens
2016 SIXTY, Lubomirov / Angus Hughes, London
2016 KEEP ME POSTED, Art Hub Gallery, London
2016 COVER VERSION, Studio 73 Gallery, London
2016 LOVE & LOSS WE’RE ALL JUST ANIMALS, Someth1ng, London
2016 ART CONVERTERS, Studio 1.1, London
2015 SEASONAL FAIR, Chalton Gallery, London
2015 SEASONAL FAIR, Someth1ng Gallery, London
2015 BAZAAR, Lubomirov / Angus Hughes, London
2015 ART NOUVEAU, Studio 73 Gallery, London
2015 UNTITLED, Someth1ng Gallery, London
2015 CHEMCRAFT, Espacio Gallery, London
2015 THE PRINT EXHIBITION, ArtHub Gallery, London
2006 UNTIL IT MAKES SENSE, Thaddaeus Ropac Gallery, Paris
2016 UNTIL IT MAKES SENSE, Seventeen Gallery, London
2016 WHO CARES ABOUT GREEK ART?, Independant space, Athens
2005 I.E. Video Archive, Independant space, London
2005 HER UP STAIRS, Open studio, Temporary Contemporary, London
2004 Video Symposium, Rhotas 2 Gallery, Lahore, Pakistan
2004 Experimental Video Art, Puratha University, Thailand
2002 THERE TO HERE, (SOLO SHOW) Tmesis Gallery, Manchester
2001 INTERIOR LANDSCAPE, (SOLO SHOW) Glass Box Gallery Salford
2001 SUMMER BIENNALE, International 3 Gallery, Manchester
2000 YOU ARE HERE, Holden Gallery, Manchester
2000 MAN MOMA, International 3 Gallery, Manchester
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RESIDENCIES
2018 Lodestone Creative, Bowling, Scotland
2017 Great Medical Disaster, collaboration with Darren Nixon, Manchester
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AWARDS/ PRIZES
2016 WINNER, SIXTY, Lubomirov / Angus Hughes, London
2016 WINNER, people’s Award, KEEP ME POSTED, Art Hub, London
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PRESS/ PUBLICATIONS
2020 Interview with Jayson Gylen and Jay Ottewell from North West Drawing Collective: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Wmyrti3Now
2018 Interview with Camilla Holder of Lodestone Creative: http://www.lodestonecreative.org/emma-coop.html#
2016 Interview, South East London Journal, issue 7, Autumn
2006 Art Monthly, Until It Makes Sense, review, issue 297, June
2006 Until It Makes Sense, Exhibition Catalogue
2006 Who Cares About Greek Art, Exhibition Catalogue
2006 GAP (Greek Arts Projects), review, issue 7
2006 Highlights magazine, review, issue 20
2004 Make Annual, review, Issue 01
2000 Art Monthly, The International 3 review, Issue 240, October
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