
Emerson Pullman (b.1995) is a figurative painter who creates portraits that operate on the boundary between realism and abstraction. Often beginning with an initial drawing, he instinctively pushes forward by making marks and gestures using layers of transparent paint. The depiction of a figure in a scene is used as a starting point for imagining the deeper reality of what is being represented and to use as a framework to explore themes of time, memory, introspection and mortality.
The works draw inspiration from a variety of sources including Philip Guston’s abstract works and 16th century ‘non finito’ sculptures. Fascinated by the process and mechanics of painting, Pullman plays with this and leaves areas unpainted or over-painted and images left without being entirely resolved. Through attempting to transcribe his reality onto the two dimensional surface, through this diversity of resolution, Pullman attempts to re-create the way in which the eye operates; in that sense they are an exercise in anthropocentric seeing and a representation of the way in which one interrogates the world.
CV
2022
Wells Art Contemporary - Wells Cathedral, Somerset
Royal Cambrian Academy Annual Exhibition - Wales
'London Paint Club Selects: Vol 1' - Hoxton, London
Rough or Smooth - Coles Gallery,Leeds
2021
'Resilience' - Coles Gallery, Leeds
Royal Cambrian Academy Annual Exhibition - Wales
'Ones to Watch 2021' - Sunny Bank Mills, Leeds
Free Range X Clear Channel - UK wide, 1000+ locations
Ruth Bouchard Self-Portrait Prize - Longlist
2019
A Sense of Humanity - Old Red Has Station, Leeds
Untilted - Leeds Arts University Graduate Show
2019
'Find and Seek' - Leeds Corn Exchange
‘Release’ - Wharf Chambers, Leeds
‘Evolve’ - LS6, Leeds