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
Solo Exhibitions
2023 Where Do We Go From Here? - New Normal Projects, Cromwell Place, London
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023 Contemporary Portraits - John Swarbrooke Fine Art, Cromwell Place, London
2023 You Are Here - MAPA Fine Art, Staffordshire St, London
2023 Cacatopia 07 - Annka Kultys, London
2022 London Paint Club Selects: Vol 2 - Koppel Projects, London
2022 Wells Art Contemporary - Wells Cathedral, Somerset
2022 Royal Cambrian Academy Annual Exhibition - RCA Wales
2022 London Paint Club Selects: Vol 1 - Hoxton, London
2021 Royal Cambrian Academy Annual Exhibition - Wales
2021 Ones to Watch 2021 - Sunny Bank Mills, Leeds
2021 Free Range X Clear Channel - UK wide, 1000+ locations
2021 Ruth Bouchard Self-Portrait Prize - Longlist
2020 A Sense of Humanity - Old Red Bus Station, Leeds
2020 Untilted - Leeds Arts University Graduate Show
2019 Find and Seek - Leeds Corn Exchange
2019 Release - Wharf Chambers, Leeds
2019 Evolve - LS6, Leeds
Awards
2023 Bloomberg New Contemporaries
2022 Leverhulme Trust Scholarship
Education
2021-2022 MA Fine Art - City & Guilds Art School, London
2017-2020 BA Fine Art - Leeds Arts University