Summer Crush: EMERALD ROSE WHIPPLE

Nathalie Karg Gallery is pleased to present Summer Crush, a solo presentation by Emerald Rose Whipple (b. 1989, California, USA). Summer Crush is composed of oil paintings from her early 2010s archive, each originating from a series of hers: Genesis: Let there be Light (2015), Eden (2013), or Natural High (2014).

Whipple's practice carries a subtle undertone of patience. Enamored by the techniques of the Pointillists, her interrupted brushstrokes asks the viewer to stay with them just a few moments longer, and it feels romantic to adjust your eyes to the scenery it offers. Whipple’s artworks border on photorealism yet blur the exact moment that the hue of their American Apparel blouse shifts underneath the light or where their sun tan turns from last week’s tan line to yesterday afternoon’s. They are inherently forgiving and the images offer assurance and familiarity through the things we do remember: the light in someone’s eyes as they flash you a smile or the angle from which you look up at someone you admire.

Whipple’s candid portraits tease 19th-century genre paintings. Her subjects are outrageously beautiful and exude the indulgence of youth as they lounge, laugh, and gallivant in the street. They are fashion models and writers painted by a lover of Impressionism. Subjects flash artifacts of the times: a Chase Bank credit card, “beach waves” styled hair, an elastic hair tie on a wrist. They are a summer crush: the romantic mundane. Whipple’s paintings are nostalgic, but without yearning. They are a summer crush: a feeling that you know will come back, and it is comforting.