Emily
Roz
Ripe
November 7th -
December 28th
Opening: Friday
November 7th, 7-9
 |
| "Stacked" oil on panel, 36"x36" |
The paintings in
Emily Roz’s exhibition “Ripe” will surely make you blush. Referencing seedpods
of a specific Southern Magnolia tree from the artist’s youth in Chapel Hill,
these lush, tactile paintings exude the sexuality of the reproduction system of
the Magnolia grandiflora. The large, cone-like forms of the Magnolia
fruit are made from multiple ovaries, which bear vivid red seeds, that hang
from the individual follicles by long silken threads. Roz’s depiction of these
intimate parts of the pods is done at a larger scale, which arouses one’s
desire for closer inspection.
Emily Roz exaggerates
the visceral and sensual qualities
of the pods through the use of saturated
colors and the
drama of baroque light. Roz enhances the shallow visual
depth
with the macro-texture of each form. She captures
each minute detail of the
final stages of propagation as
the hard, lustrous crimson seeds protrude and
penetrate their tantalizing furry enclosures. The exacting detail of these
structures is counterbalanced by her use of the flat blue negative space
surrounding the pods. These seemingly infinite fields of color paired with
intense detail are inspired by Roz’s love of Northern Renaissance and Flemish
paintings that use color in both realistic and symbolic ways.
“These paintings are
my way of flirting. They want to turn you on, in a painting kind of way. Their
texture and shapes may make you blush while their color and light appeals to you
on a more cerebral level. Plants and animals have evolved for their essential
purpose: to procreate. In these paintings I explore how both artworks and
people pull out all the stops to get attention. These paintings are reminders
of the universal impulse to use whatever resources we have to attract and connect,
physically, emotionally or intellectually.”
- Emily Roz
 |
| "Spooning 2" oil on panel, 36"x36" |
Born in 1972, Emily
Roz received a BA from Hampshire College where she studied Art History,
Literature and Weaving. She went on to receive an MFA in Fiber from Cranbrook
Academy of Art. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. She
has been reviewed in The New York Times, New York Magazine, Time Out New
York, The Washington Post, Joy Quarterly, W+G Williamsburg News + Art,
Apollo Magazine, The Brooklyn Rail and NewCity Chicago. Emily was raised in Chapel Hill, North
Carolina and currently works in Queens. She lives on a small island off the
coast of North America with her husband and son. This is her third solo
show at the Front Room Gallery.
