Emily Keating Snyder

I'm a New Yorker at heart (despite growing up in Maryland and now living in Los Angeles for years). That level of creative energy is tough to find anywhere else... and I love sarcasm. But L.A. is a sacred place when you’re obsessed with color. And living here has helped me to let go and be more myself in the art studio. It’s a safe city for experimentation.

Artist Statement

I started making my current work because I wanted to create immersive color. I wanted to take the hues I love and blow them up to see as much uninterrupted color in one place as I could. To frame and enhance them in a way that wouldn’t complicate the view with more paint, I added embroidery. I loved that I was connecting back to myself as a crafter, getting to use my hands and work directly with materials.

The thread was meant to be there only in service of the paint color, but has expanded into something integral to these paintings. When I’m in the process of making, it’s purely about color and pattern. But when I look at the finished work from the outside I see a special exchange happening that speaks to everything I love about art. These pieces are both painting on canvas and embroidery on fabric. Fine art and craft. As an artist you’re usually asked to pick a side.

The idea that art is for everyone has always been important to me. Choosing to work with unprimed, unstretched canvas is about making the art process more transparent and approachable. Artist’s canvas isn’t something beyond the everyday experience. It’s fabric. It frays, it wrinkles.