Bio

Emma Whitaker was raised between San Luis Obispo, CA and the small town of Casola Valsenio, Italy. She studied Art History at Emory University and received her Fine Art degree from Maine College of Art. Whitaker now teaches at a private school outside of Washington, D.C. Her work is collected internationally and has recently been exhibited at the Joseph A. Fiore Foundation in Jefferson, Maine and at the Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Artist Statement

I am an abstract painter interested in the psychological component of space. I love to paint patterns and objects with unusual shapes or colors. I unite these objects within a single space, producing a surrealist environment that always surprises me. The elements together seem to create a mood, which I accentuate using the formal tools of art, including line, color, and pattern. I am interested in how a painting can both attract and repel the viewer, and how a painting can feel both familiar and unfamiliar.