Emmett Hartlove

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    My work is based on creating art objects for my environment. These acts of creation take the form of painting, woodworking, curatorial compositions, manipulated textiles, mapping, and focusing on insignificant belongings from myself and others to elevate them to importance. 

    Prioritizing found objects and texts, I combine the objects I create and find, often using unexpected and unconventional materials for their capacity to hold other meanings. Material execution, I believe, holds equal importance to subject matter and reference. The ability to present the qualities of a given material can be the art. In my recent work, I focused on remembering the value of the impermanence of my forms, as it allows pieces to continue to grow.

    I'm also interested in the role of traditional technique in the context of western visual creation and portraiture. The sublime tension that can exist between a charged locale and material is something in which I hold deep regard. When making, I consider the natural form of the subjects I’m working with as a way to discover connections and likenesses between them. This method allows for a practice that is not derived from a pre-formed plan, but is instead informed by the materials’ qualities. It’s guided by a dialogue between me and the subjects, the materials, and their stories.