HADASSAH EMMERICH | Epicurean Eden - What if Women Ruled the World? Part II | National Museum of Contemporary Art Αthens (ΕΜΣΤ)
Exhibitions
Until November 2024, the National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMΣT) presents a cycle of exhibitions, in four parts, exclusively dedicated to the work of women artists or artists who identify as female, under the broader umbrella title, What if Women Ruled the World?
On 8 March 2024, International Women’s Day, Part II of the exhibition cycle opened with six new projects by five international artists:
Yael Bartana
Claudia Comte
Hadassah Emmerich
Lola Flash
Malvina Panagiotidi
___________________________________
Hadassah Emmerich | Epicurean Eden
WHAT IF WOMEN RULED THE WORLD? Part ||
The mural will debut as part of the ‘What If Women Ruled the World’ Part II exhibition cycle, but will remain on display at the museum for a couple of years. Furthermore, the project is slated for completion in June, ideally aligning with the inauguration of ‘What If Women Ruled the World’ Part IV. Notably, the installation will include then specially crafted art rugs developed in collaboration with Art Rug Projects Athens.
Hadassah Emmerich has become known for her exuberant paintings, collages and murals that intricately weave stylised representations of exotic fruit, body parts and vegetal elements into bold eroticised ornaments. Her work reflects an immersive and visceral exploration of the body and identity, navigating the realms of the sensory and the sensual while delving into the commodification of desire, the erotic and the exotic.
The sensuality of her painting resides not only on the surface of the image, but also in her refined use of colour and technical execution. Since 2016, Emmerich has worked with a new painting technique, using stencils cut from vinyl flooring, which she covers with ink and then impresses onto canvas, paper or a wall. Referring to the visual language of advertising and Pop art, she creates images that examine the aestheticisation of the female body. She depicts the paradox of simultaneous attraction and repulsion, intimacy and cool detachment, seduction and critique.
For the first presentation of her work in Greece, Emmerich has created a new large-scale, site-specific expansive wall painting which covers part of the museum’s ground floor foyer and mezzanine, taking over its entire education space. Consisting of several murals, a large frieze on the balcony of the mezzanine that connects to the ground floor and mezzanine, and several murals on the latter, including two monumental columns and sitting areas, the result is an immersive and colourful Gesamtkunstwerk.
About Hadassah Emmerich
*Heerlen (NL), 1974
Lives and works in Brussels
Hadassah Emmerich studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Maastricht, HISK Flanders and Goldsmiths College, London. Recent exhibitions include: Skin of the Shapeshifter, SUPRAINFINIT, Bucharest (2023); Botanical Body Bliss, Galerie Ron Mandos Amsterdam (2023); False Flat, Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht (2022); Abrasive Paradise, Kunsthal KAdE, Amersfoort, NL (2022); Trailblazers, 150 years Royal Award for Painting, Royal Palace, Amsterdam (2021); BXL Universel II: multipli.city, CENTRALE for Contemporary Art, Brussels (2021), BuahTangan, ISA Art Gallery, Jakarta (2020); The Great Ephemeral Skin, De Garage, Mechelen (2019). Her work is held in numerous public collections including the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht, MuZee, Oostende, The Flemish Parliament and the Federal Government Collections, Brussels, Gemeentemuseum and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Hague and the Museum for Modern Art, Arnhem, NL.
Hadassah Emmerich’s art is a multifaceted exploration that transcends conventional boundaries, inviting viewers into a world where sensuality, feminism, and identity intersect. With a commitment to pushing the limits of her creative process and addressing urgent themes with depth and self-awareness, Emmerich stands as a visionary artist shaping the contemporary art landscape.
Body and identity, the sensory and the sensual, the commodification of the erotic and the exotic: these are frequently recurring themes in Hadassah Emmerich’s work. The sensuality of her painting resides not only on the surface of the (erotic) image but also in her refined use of colour and technical execution. Since 2016, Emmerich has worked with a new painting technique, using stencils cut from vinyl flooring, which she covers with ink and then impresses onto canvas, paper or a wall. Referring to the visual language of advertising and Pop art, she creates images that both aestheticise and problematize the female body. She depicts the paradox of simultaneous attraction and repulsion, intimacy and cool detachment, seduction and critique. In this way, Emmerich succeeds in making the act of looking truly provocative.
- Nina Folkersma
About EMΣT | The National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens
EMΣT | The National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens is the leading national institution for contemporary art and visual culture in Greece, and one of the flagship institutions in Southern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean. It began its operation in 2000. In the first years of its existence, it was a nomadic institution, hosted by institutions such as the Athens Concert Hall and the Athens Conservatoire, as its new home – the former Athenian landmark, the industrial modernist FIX brewery – was being retrofitted as a state-of-the art contemporary art museum. In 2015 it moved into its new premises while in 2020, a part of its collection was installed and EMΣT finally opened to the public.
SUPPORTED BY
The exhibition Hadassah Emmerich forms part of the Residency Program of the Project SUB 6.4, “Actions to promote Greek cultural exports and strengthen the Greek cultural name by the National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens”, which is implemented within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan “Greece 2.0”, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU.
Hadassah Emmerich’s project is supported by the Mondriaan Fund.
