V1 GALLERY PROUDLY PRESENTS
Studies Into Obscurity
An exhibition by Emma Kohlmann
Studies into Obscurity is a new series of watercolor and sumi ink drawings by Emma Kohlmann depicting sensual figures in various stages of development and decay. The collection of work (more than 100 drawings covering the walls of V1 Gallery Project Space) is based on erotica, but also draws on and utilizes other aspects of historical narratives such as primordial Venus figurines, ancient statues, and tantric illustrations.
Fluid figures seem to naturally emerge out of wondrous spills. Nude, reclining, having sex, and touching themselves. The eroticism of these works is a refreshingly punk, feminist take on contemporary sexuality.
Each drawing is unique, not two drawings are the same although there is a retracing of the same work at play. The drawings themselves become fatalities of spontaneity, unintended marks become part of the overall ethos of each piece. The obscured aspects of the body become entry points into abstractions.
Emma Kohlmann is born in New York City in 1989. She currently lives and works in Western Massachusetts. Graduated from Hampshire College with a Bachelor of Arts in 2011, she designed her own major in aesthetics, feminist theory and drawing. Her primary medium is watercolor and sumi ink. Her recent experiments include replicating watercolor on canvas and textile. Kohlmann publishes her own artist’s books and other ephemera such as records, zines and t-shirts. She has exhibited throughout the United States, Montreal, Tokyo and Berlin. It is her first solo show at V1 gallery.
