Hadassah Emmerich
Heerlen, NL, 1974 Works and lives in Brussel
In her paintings, Hadassah Emmerich (born in 1974 in Heerlen, lives and works in Brussels) interweaves identity and the body, representations of the exotic, and sensuality. Feminine curves gain territory in a dialogue between abstraction and figuration. Once identified, they are visible in all their glory, bold and outspoken. Once you have spotted them there is no turning back.
The female shapes come to the fore in grand gestures and contours. Seductively and powerfully, Emmerich plays a game between the flat surface and the bodies that appear to emanate from the canvas.
Sinds 2016, Hadassah Emmerich has been working with a new technique in which she uses stencils made from floor vinyl that she rolls in printing ink or oil paint before printing them on canvas, paper or a wall. Hallucinatory patterns develop as a result of these repetitive stencils and their progression of colours. They take you from not-seeing to seeing, from abstraction to figuration, and from flirting to self-aware exhibitionism.
She makes contemporary PopArt work, with sensuality in both the movement and erotic imagery, and unlike art that has the filter of male art history, it is now the feminine and femininity itself that has the upper hand. However, Emmerich also manages to adopt a dual position. These are paintings that both aestheticize and problematize the female body. They maintain the paradox of simultaneous attraction and rejection, of intimacy and aloofness, and of seduction and criticism.